Ranma and Akane: The One True Couple
by Compucles
Summary: This is a collection of first chapters of ideas I have for Ranma x Akane romance stories. Give me some feedback on which ones you think I should eventually continue. More will eventually be added.
1. The Tomboy Bride

**Special Note:** So here's the deal. I saw someone else try this, and it's not against the rules, so I decided to do it too. This is a collection of first chapters of story ideas I have. I want feedback on these to help decide which ones I want to continue and how soon to do so. I'll gradually be adding more to it, but I'll warn you now that they will all feature a Ranma x Akane pairing. As a special treat, if you leave a signed review, I'll give you a sneak peak of some information I have planned for that particular story while avoiding spoilers.

First up is a story that I had originally published under its own entry but will now be featured here instead.

**The Tomboy Bride**

**Disclaimer: "**Ranma ½" was written by Rumiko Takahashi, while "The Princess Bride" was written by William Goldman.

**Chapter 1: Tragedy Strikes**

The cute ten year old redheaded girl was in her room playing "The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword" on her Nintendo Wii, as this was the closest her parents would let her get to practicing her martial arts while she had a cold.

Eventually, her bedroom door was opened to admit an attractive woman with short dark-blue hair in her early 30s. "Nodoka, your grandfather is here to see you," she told the girl.

"Which grandfather?" asked Nodoka nervously.

"Grandpa Tendo," answered the woman.

"Well, at least he's better than Grandpa Saotome," grumbled Nodoka, "but Mom, can't you tell him I'm sick?"

"He's here _because_ you're sick," explained her mother.

"He's no fun," complained Nodoka. "He's just going to cry while going on and on about how it was all because of him that you and Dad got together, or he's going to want to play shogi only to cheat like a Kuno."

Nodoka's mom sighed. "I know my father can be high maintenance, but that's pretty much true of everyone in our family outside of your Aunt Kasumi. He's already here, so just talk to him and be nice."

Before long, a man in his late 50s came into the room holding a book. He had long hair and a mustache, which were now mostly gray. He sat down on the bed next to his granddaughter, while her mother left the room. "I've brought you a special present," he began. He handed the book to Nodoka.

"The Princess Bride?" scoffed Nodoka. "No offense, Grandpa, but I've seen the movie like a dozen times by now. It's a classic."

"I know," responded her grandfather, "but when I was a kid, the movie hadn't been made yet, and this was one of my favorite books. Don't worry. I'll liven it up just for you."

"I guess that doesn't sound too bad," replied Nodoka. "I'll try and stay awake."

Her grandfather opened the book and began to read.

* * *

Akane was raised to be the heir to the Tendo School of Anything-Goes Martial Arts in the Nerima Ward of Tokyo, Japan.

(Nodoka started giggling as she thought, 'Of course he's going to read it this way. This might be fun, after all.')

Her favorite pastimes were martial arts, of course, and tormenting her arranged fiancé who lived there as the heir to the Saotome branch of the school. His name was Ranma, but she never called him that.

Whenever Akane got angry, she would take it out on Ranma. "Well, I'm sorry if being around me is such a problem, dummy." "You uncute tomboy!" Ranma would reply only to be smacked by Akane's fist or a nearby blunt object.

"Try my cooking, please," suggested Akane. Ranma took a bite only to immediately wash it down with a glass of milk. "You uncute tomboy," he muttered as he held his hand to his stomach. That day, Akane was amazed to discover that when Ranma said, "You uncute tomboy," he really meant, "I love you." It was even more amazing when she realized that she loved him back.

They were finally willing to get married, but first Ranma had to travel to China to complete his martial arts training before he could inherit the Tendo Dojo. It was a very emotional time for the couple as they said good-bye.

"I'm afraid I'll never see you again. What if something happens to you?" worried Akane.

"I'll always come back for you. Ranma Saotome never loses," promised Ranma with his usual arrogant grin. "This is true love."

* * *

Ranma never made it to his final destination. After swimming to China, he was captured by the Dread Pirate Lady Ranko, who never left captives alive. When Akane got the news that Ranma had been murdered, she went to her room and cried for days. "I will never love again," she promised.

* * *

**Author's Notes: **Okay, this idea just came to me, and I had to get started on it. Don't worry; the other chapters should be longer, and it won't be quite as straightforward a parody as it seems so far.

Remember, leave a signed review for some extra info.


	2. The Pigtailed God(dess)

**The Pigtailed God(dess)**

**Disclaimer:** "Ranma ½" was written by Rumiko Takahashi. I am merely a victim of the "Spring of Drowned Nerd."

**Formatting Notes:** Speech is in double quotes. Thoughts are in single quotes. The narration will refer to Ranma by his current gender. Blah blah blah.

**Chapter 1: I Will Go the Distance**

_Once the gods were plentiful and freely mingled among the mortals. They were our guardians and protectors. They kept peace throughout the lands._

_Now they are but few. They are still our guardians, but their visits have become rare. When they do visit, they often remain anonymous to the general public._

_Over 100 years ago, there was a great division amongst the gods. Many of them had grown dissatisfied in their benevolent role towards mankind. These gods believed that their godhood gave them the right to conquer and rule over the mortals. This division eventually led to a great war among the gods._

_There has never before and never since been such a war in the history of the world. For three years they fought each other viciously, causing innumerable deaths among gods and mortals alike. Finally, all of the remaining gods gathered for one final battle to decide the fate of the world. During this battle, the leader of the rebelling gods, the evil Happosai, was finally struck down by two young but powerful warriors. It is said that Happosai placed a curse on both of his slayers with his dying breaths. With their leader gone, the rebellion lost morale, and only seven managed to escape to parts unknown._

_However, the cost of victory was great. Only twelve of our guardians survived whereas there had previously been hundreds._

_God and man slowly worked together to rebuild after the war. Due to their small number, the gods had created a form of government among themselves called a direct democracy, wherein everyone had equal say. Inspired by the gods, the mortals modified the idea for their larger numbers to form a great republic, wherein the people would elect representatives called senators to make government decisions. _

_And so the land once again knew peace. However, the remaining gods worry that the exiled ones might someday return and have made preparations to hopefully prevent the evil ones from succeeding if such an event were to come to pass._

_The remaining pantheon consists of the following gods and goddesses:_

_**Ranma**_

_Patron God of Guards_

_Patron Goddess of Maidens_

_Animal Representative: Dragon_

_This deity may appear in either male or female form. No mortal knows if (s)he is truly a man, a woman, or both. Ranma has a high sense of honor and justice and was one of the two warriors to defeat Happosai. Ranma is also one of the two most powerful of the remaining gods and will not hesitate to prove it if the evil of mankind forces him/her to do so. Ranma is also known for refusing to take any romantic partners. (S)he has long been desired by many suitors of both genders, gods and mortals alike, but Ranma has always spurned their advances. It is thought that (s)he has taken a vow of chastity._

_**Ryoga**_

_Patron God of Soldiers and Masculinity_

_Animal Representative: Boar_

_Ryoga was the other warrior who defeated Happosai. His honor and power are also great, but he is more headstrong and prone to rage. He also has trouble with depression at times due to all the losses suffered by the Great War._

_**Cologne**_

_Patron Goddess of Wisdom and the Elderly_

_Animal Representative: Owl_

_By far the oldest and wisest of the remaining gods, Cologne is also known as a legendary warrior. Ranma and Ryoga were her personal apprentices, and her power is still on par with Ranma's. It was her leadership on the battlefield that proved indispensable to their victory._

_**Soun**_

_Patron God of Fathers and Politicians_

_Animal Representative: Eagle_

_If Cologne was the brains of the battlefield, Soun was the heart. He is highly respected as a great and noble man who cares deeply for his family. He personally buried every one of his many children who perished during the war. He acts as chairman of the Council of the Gods and holds the tie-breaking vote._

_**Kimiko**_

_Patron Goddess of Mothers and Spirit_

_Animal Representative: Kangaroo_

_Kimiko is Soun's wife. She is a very strong-willed and spirited woman. Soun has said that it was her strength and passion that got him through the war._

_**Tofu**_

_Patron God of Husbands and Physicians_

_Animal Representative: Porcupine_

_Tofu was one of two survivors of the gods' medical corps. His power is great, but he prefers healing to fighting, although he will fight if necessary, particularly in defense of his wife._

_**Kasumi**_

_Patron Goddess of Wives and Femininity_

_Animal Representative: Dove_

_Kasumi is Tofu's wife and the other survivor of the medical corps. She is also the only surviving child of Soun and Kimiko. Unlike her husband, Kasumi is a complete pacifist and would only use her powers for healing and defense during the war. She managed to survive due to the diligence of her husband's protection and care._

_**Shampoo**_

_Patron Goddess of Businessmen and Craftiness_

_Animal Representative: Tigress_

_Shampoo is Cologne's great-granddaughter and an excellent warrior. However, her true strengths lie in cunning and mischief. She may come across as no more than a sexy bimbo, but you would do well not to underestimate her. She served as an excellent spy during the war._

_**Mousse**_

_Patron God of Crafters and Scholars_

_Animal Representative: Mallard_

_Mousse is extremely intelligent and a Master of Hidden Weapons, most of which he makes himself. He has taken on the role of historian among the gods, as he is a strong believer in the adage that those who don't learn history are doomed to repeat it._

_**Ukyo**_

_Patron Goddess of Cooks and Farmers_

_Animal Representative: Cow_

_Known as the greatest chef in the world, food is Ukyo's life. She even grows many of her ingredients herself. She invented okonomiyaki, one of the most popular dishes in the world._

_**Konatsu**_

_Patron Goddess of Kunoichi and Stealth_

_Animal Representative: Chameleon_

_Known as the "Genius Kunoichi," Konatsu introduced the art of ninjustu to the mortals. Following her teachings, the "Kunoichi Order of Konatsu" was established, an honorable group of female mercenaries who invoke stealth and seduction as much as they do combat._

_**Hinako**_

_Patron Goddess of Children and Leisure_

_Animal Representative: Puppy_

_Despite being a fully-grown woman, Hinako seems to have never grown up, as she has the interests and attention span of a child. The major exception is in the fact that she is the most amorous of the gods in "mortal affairs," and she has the body to ensure that her "appetite for men" is always satisfied._

* * *

Akane had grown up hearing the legends of the gods and the Great War, but she had never met any, and this was her first time asking one for help. However, she was desperate, and this was one of only three remaining options she had to avoid a fate worse than death. She wasn't one to ever consider killing herself, so if this didn't work, she would have to run away and try to find a way to live on her own in another city.

What sort of horrible fate lay before her, you might ask? Akane's mother had sold her hand in marriage to Lord Tatewaki, a rich, delusional idiot who she absolutely despised. Tatewaki had been obsessed with her for years now, never taking "no" for an answer and always coming back for more no matter how many times she beat him up.

Akane supposed she should have expected this turn of events. Her mother, Nabiki, was the richest woman in the city. She only cared about two things, and neither of them was her daughter. She was extremely greedy and obsessed with money. She built her fortune on blackmail, betting pools, and information exchange; and she maintained it and further increased her wealth by buying out promising businesses and making cutthroat decisions against her competitors, while making sure that everything she did was technically legal. There was never any danger of Akane growing up spoiled, though, as she only spent what she needed to spend on her daughter. Marrying Akane off to Tatewaki would not only extract a huge payment from the young lord, but it would also make Tatewaki a valuable ally in future business dealings.

Nabiki's other great love was sex, as she was also the city's biggest slut. As long as you had the money, she would put out for anyone male. She had sworn to never marry, as not only would her husband gain control over her fortune, she would also be expected to remain sexually faithful to a single man, which she could not accept. Akane knew it was hopeless to even start looking for whom her father might be.

It was with disgust at her mother's lifestyle that Akane had long ago sworn to herself to always be honest with others and that the only man she would ever sleep with would be her husband. Unfortunately, even though she was very attractive and desired by many, she had yet to find any man even close to being worthy of marriage. Most of the single young men she knew were disgusting perverts who were only interested in her body, not who she was. The rest were turned off her strong will, sharp tongue, and quick temper. They wanted someone would act as a meek, submissive housewife.

As a result, she was now 19 years old and had never had a boyfriend or even a first kiss. Most young women at the time married between the legal age of 16 and 18, and even those who hadn't married that young had had at least one lover or one-night-stand. A 19 year old maiden was almost unheard of, and her childhood friends Yuka and Sayuri liked to tease her that she was becoming an old maid. They had both lost their innocence at 14 and married their husbands Hiroshi and Daisuke at 16, although they at least had only been with whom they eventually married. Akane, however, was saving herself for love and marriage, and there was no way she was giving herself to someone like Tatewaki.

It was with these thoughts that she made her way late at night to the Temple of Ranma. If anyone could both understand and save her, it was the legendary virgin god(dess). She had long felt a shared connection to Ranma, and she liked to cheer herself up after being chased by perverted boys by reading legends of gods and goddesses who had tried and failed to win Ranma before the Great War, such as the perverted ice skater Mikado or the tea ceremony specialist Sentaro. Even after the war, Ranma was to this day being pursued by Ukyo and Shampoo.

Normally, it would be dangerous for a woman to travel alone at night. Those who couldn't avoid doing so would disguise themselves as men. However, Akane was no normal woman. One of the few good things her mother had done for her was to pay for her to take martial arts lessons. Nabiki had thought it wise to have a loyal bodyguard she didn't have to pay and often used Akane as such, while knowing that her control over her daughter's livelihood kept Akane from turning against her. Akane loved martial arts, and she turned out to be an amazing prodigy. She had eventually surpassed her own sensei and was undefeated in several underground tournaments in which her mother had made her compete for the prize money. Some of her opponents went so far as to claim that her strength seemed superhuman at times. In fact, she had been attacked by a group of bandits during this very trip, who were now lying unconscious on the side of the road.

Having reached her destination, Akane went inside and removed her traveling cloak. She brushed back her long, dark blue hair as she looked up at the giant statue of Ranma, lit up by the temple's oil lamps. The left half of the statue was of his male form, which then transposed into her female form on the right half. Both halves maintained Ranma's cocky grin, strong eyes, and signature pigtailed hairstyle.

Akane placed incense in the burners on either side, lit them with matches, then knelt down in her simple dress to pray. She poured out her soul to Ranma, begging for his/her help as tears streamed from her eyes.

All of a sudden, she felt a hand on her arm. Surprised, she stood up and turned around to come face-to-face with a man with the deepest pair of blue eyes she had ever seen. The man's face was filled with shock as he stared back. A few seconds later, a huge grin broke out on his face.

Without warning, the man had wrapped her in a tight embrace. "Akane, it's you!" he exclaimed. "After all these years, I've finally found you."

Akane didn't know what to say. How had this strange man known her name, and why had he been looking for her? There was one thing she knew she had to do, though. There was no way she was going to let this man keep hugging her like this. "Aaahhh! Pervert!" she shouted in anger, as she drove her knee into the man's groin. The man let go and staggered backwards in pain. Akane followed up with a vicious right cross with enough strength to send the man flying into the temple wall.

Akane picked up her cloak and started for the front door in disgust when she noticed that the man was somehow getting to his feet. That was impossible! Nobody could still be conscious after a hit like that! Akane began backing away in fear and then fell on her behind as the impossible happened once again. The man went through some kind of physical transformation, as he became shorter and curvier, and his hair color shifted from black to red. Two large bumps appeared on his chest. Akane looked back into the now feminine face that contained the same eyes and realized that the man had somehow turned into a woman. "D***, that hurt" she complained in a new soprano voice, "but I guess I should've expected such a reaction from a young woman who came ta pray for help at _my_ temple."

At these words, Akane's mind finally clicked. She looked between the woman across the room and the statue and knew there was no mistake. 'Oh, no! What have I done?!' she thought. 'I've attacked a god! She's going to kill me and send me straight to h***!'

Akane scrambled to her knees and began begging for her life. "Oh, Great Ranma, I'm so sorry! Please don't kill me! I didn't mean to hurt you! It was a horrible mistake!"

Ranma chuckled at this pathetic display. "Why would I kill ya? Ya ain't done nothin' wrong. I wouldn't wanna strange man huggin' me, neither. Now stop your grovelin'. You're embarrassing yourself."

Akane took a deep breath and stood up. "Thank you, Master Ranma. You're too kind. Will you help me get out of my engagement with that fool Tatewaki?"

"Oh, I can do better than that, Akane," Ranma replied with a smile as she walked towards her. "You have no idea who ya really are. Like I said, I've been lookin' for ya for years."

"What do you mean?" asked Akane, obviously confused.

"You're one of us," revealed Ranma. "Your real parents are Soun and Kimiko."

Akane's eyes went wide, and her brain shut down from overload. She collapsed in a dead faint. Ranma, expecting this possibility, rushed forward and caught her before she hit the ground.

* * *

When Akane woke up, she found her cloak wrapped around her and her head resting in Ranma's lap. Ranma, meanwhile, was leaning back against her own statue. Remembering what she was told before passing out, she sat up with a jolt. "Is it true?" she asked in an emotionless voice. "Am I really a-a goddess?" She turned around to face Ranma and gulped as she waited for the answer.

"Well," replied Ranma as she nervously scratched her head at the base of her pigtail. "We're not so much gods and goddesses as we are a more advanced race of beings. "Personally, when I hear the word 'god,' I think of someone both immortal and omnipotent and who has direct control over mortals' lives. We are none of that. We've got limits to our abilities, we can't force nothin' on humans that they can't do ta each other, and not only can we be killed, but we have natural limits to our lives as well. Basically, we age at the same rate as humans for our first 20 years, an' then we age gradually for a total lifespan of about a thousand years. For example, my human age is about 28 compared to my actual age of 140. We pretty much just let the humans believe what they wanna rather than goin' through the headache of tryin' to explain the whole concept to everyone."

"So do you have a name for your people then?" asked Akane curiously.

"Don't forget, it's not just 'my' people but 'your' people as well. Anyway, we don't have any official name, but we call ourselves Nerimians after our hidden city of Nerima. We've only rebuilt a small portion after the destruction of the Great War, but you'll be amazed at what we do have when I take you home tomorrow after we sort things out here."

'Home,' thought Akane. 'Tomorrow, I'll have a new home and new parents.' This thought made her think of something else she needed to ask. "So, if I'm one of you, why was I left here? Didn't my parents want me?"

Ranma sighed. "Yes, of course they wanted you, but somethin' happened, and you needed ta be hidden for your own safety. I placed you in the care of a shrine with a trusted priestess named Kikyo, but when you were three years old, I was summoned to my temple by a weeping Kikyo, who informed me that you had been abducted by an unknown person. I've searched for ya whenever I could ever since then, hoping that you were still alive, but I had no clues, an' I can only confirm that someone is a Nerimian by touchin' them directly. I never thought I would find ya like this."

Akane grabbed Ranma's hand in her own and looked her in the eyes. "What happened when I was a baby? Please, I need to know."

Ranma took a deep breath and began the tragic story. "First of all, ya need to understand that our city was in ruins after the war. We were in much worse shape than the humans, an' there were only a dozen of us left. Nevertheless, we felt it was our duty to also help the humans rebuild after draggin' 'em into our war. Worst of all, we feared the return of the last seven Dark Ones while we were still weak. It took decades before we felt secure enough to raise children, but we finally thought we were ready, and Kimiko soon became pregnant with you."

"Somehow, the Dark Ones heard about the pregnancy an' made plans to stop it. I'm in charge of security for what's left of Nerima, and I was one day shocked to discover an alert that one of the Dark Ones, Kodachi the Black Rose, had entered Nerima and was headed straight for Soun's and Kimiko's house. Kimiko was over eight months pregnant and wouldn't be able ta defend herself. I went straight there but found I was too late: Kodachi had already come and gone, an' Kimiko was dead with throwing knives in her heart and abdomen, attacks that would've been easily sensed and defended against if she wasn't so heavily pregnant." At this point, Akane burst into tears at the news of her mother's death.

"You can take comfort in the fact that at least she died instantly," Ranma continued. "Obviously, we decided not to inform the humans of Kimiko's passing. We didn't wanna cause panic with the news that the Dark Ones were active. Anyway, imagine my surprise when Dr. Tofu emerged from the bathroom with a crying newborn baby. Apparently, even though she wasn't due for two more weeks, Kimiko had gone into quick labor only a couple of hours earlier. In the rush, only Dr. Tofu had been informed of what was happening. Once you were born, along with the afterbirth and cutting the cord, Dr. Tofu asked Kimiko for a name for her new daughter. Kimiko told him that she and Soun had decided on the name 'Akane' for a girl."

"Dr. Tofu then took you into the bathroom for your first bath, at which point Kodachi arrived and attacked from the bedroom window. Dr. Tofu sensed what was happening but had no time to do anything about it. He finished washing you and peeked out the door ta make sure Kodachi was gone. When I arrived a few seconds later, he revealed himself. Me an' Tofu quickly agreed that ya needed ta be hidden until ya were old enough to learn how ta defend yourself. We also realized that the Dark Ones had some unknown method of obtaining info from Nerima to have known about the pregnancy in the first place. Therefore, I immediately left Nerima with you under the guise of searchin' for Kodachi, while Tofu told the others that both Kimiko and the baby had been killed. We would then never speak of you again until it was time ta bring ya home."

Akane couldn't take it anymore and buried her head in Ranma's neck as she cried even louder. Ranma held Akane in her arms as the girl cried herself to sleep. "Sleep tight, Akane," said Ranma softly as she leaned back to get some sleep herself. "We've got a long day ahead of us tomorrow."

* * *

**Author's Notes:** So this came to me as sort of a cross between Disney's "Hercules," "Star Wars," and the "Percy Jackson" books with the "Ranma ½" cast. What do you think? Remember, if you leave a signed review, I'll give you a sneak peak of some information (but not any real spoilers) I have planned for this story if I continue it.

Yes, Konatsu is still male in this universe. The "mortals" have merely mistaken him for female, just as pretty much everyone does in the manga.

There are no surnames for either "gods" or "mortals" in this universe, which is why I refer to Kuno as Tatewaki.

If you're curious, the technology level is set for medieval Europe among the "mortals," while Nerima runs on a sort of steampunk technology that uses ki instead of steam for a power source.


	3. El Rakanma Shive

**El Rakanma Shive**

**Special Formatting Notes for This Story: **Single quotes will also be used for telepathic thoughts, while curly brackets will indicate a spoken foreign language.

**Chapter 1: Give Me "Rakanma" or Give Me Death**

As Ranma Saotome raced his fiancée Akane Tendo to school, his mind drifted back to recent events. Just a week ago, he had left for China with the rest of the Jusenkyo cursed population of Nerima on what he had assumed at the time would be one of his standard adventures, such as the ones at Mt. Horai or Ryugenzawa. However, he couldn't have been more wrong. While enemies like Herb and the Eight-Headed Serpent had also fought with deadly intent, they were nothing compared to Phoenix King Saffron.

With both his and Akane's lives on the line and an opponent more dangerous than any before, Ranma had been forced to use every ounce of his skill and power, and in the end he had no choice but to kill, something he had always been able to avoid in the past. Thankfully, Saffron's phoenix abilities had been more literal than anticipated, allowing him to be reborn, while the battle had reopened the water supply of Phoenix Peak, removing any reason for the Phoenix Tribe to take any further action against Jusenkyo or its source at Jusendo.

However, it had almost been too late for Akane. Afraid he had lost the most important person in his life, Ranma had finally confessed his love for the "uncute tomboy," and his relief had no bounds when she had miraculously come back to him and woken up.

After returning home, their parents had surprised them with a wedding attempt with, even more surprising, Akane's support. She had revealed that she had somehow heard his confession of love, and in hindsight it had been a missed opportunity when Ranma had let his automatic defenses once again deny any affection for her. Of course, the wedding itself had been an absolute disaster with every suitor and rival they had in Nerima showing up and wreaking havoc, including the loss of a certain cask of Nannichuan water.

That had been yesterday, and Ranma had gone to bed thinking about what almost happened before finally falling asleep. He now knew without a doubt that Akane was the girl he wanted to marry. Despite the way they had been forced together and their horrible first impressions, he had fallen for her anyway, and it was now far past time to treat her accordingly. It would be difficult, but he would have to stop the insults and denials, while some extra compliments now and then would also help. Maybe he could even push past his fear and help train her like she's always wanted.

The question, though, was how did Akane feel about him? He was certain that she at least considered him a friend, but did her feelings extend any further than that? At first he had thought that her willingness to get married had been merely a favor for him to get the cure for his curse, but after thinking about it, he realized that such a conclusion was unlikely at best. If that was all it was, why had she asked him if he loved her? Would a woman really be willing to marry a man she didn't love just as a friendly favor? He highly doubted it, and if she loved him as much as he loved her, he was going to personally insure that they would successfully get married and soon. He couldn't take much more of these idiots chasing after him and his woman.

* * *

With his mind distracted, Akane had managed to win their footrace as she pulled into the school gates a few steps ahead of him. Her celebration was cut short, however, by the approaching figure of Tatewaki Kuno. "Saotome!" he shouted in any icy voice. "This time you've gone too far! How dare you actually attempt to wed the fair Akane Tendo! I will strike thee down for good for thy grievous sins!"

"Kuno, for the last time, you have no say in whom I marry, and I'd rather marry the pigtailed girl than someone like you," replied Akane, earning a deep scowl from the deluded kendoist and a smirk from Ranma at her clever implication. "What are you doing here, anyway? It's a new school year, so you should've graduated by now."

Kuno looked down as he quietly answered, "My father thought it best for me to refresh my studies for another year before attempting college."

"Meaning you flunked so badly even your father couldn't do anything about it," translated Akane. "Face it, Kuno. Even nepotism has it's limits."

"'Tis but a blessing in disguise, my fierce tigress, for now we can graduate and move on to college together." He turned towards Ranma and lifted his bokuto into a ready position. "However, first I must smite this rogue who dares keep us apart, for I know it is his influence that forces thee to say such cruel things."

"Some things never change," muttered Ranma. "Look, Kuno. I'd rather not be late for my first day back, so let's just skip ahead ta the part where I kick your butt." Ranma quickly charged his opponent, and with a shout of "KACHU TENSHIN AMAGURIKEN" pummeled Kuno dozens of times in just a few seconds, easily dropping him to the ground. "C'mon, Akane, let's leave the loser where he belongs and get ta class," he said as he began walking away.

However, Kuno wasn't done yet. "The vengeance of heaven is slow but sure," he stated with a vicious grin as he slowly got to his feet. Akane gasped as she saw him remove a real katana from the wooden sheath that had disguised it as one of his normal bokken. Ranma still hadn't noticed when Kuno charged him from behind with his katana held high. He wasn't going to be able to dodge the attack!

"Ranma, look out!" Akane screamed, pushing him out of the way. However, this put Akane in the direct path of the assault, and Kuno had already committed to his attack. "Akane, NOOOO!" shouted Ranma as he looked up just in time to see Kuno cut Akane diagonally across her torso, nearly from her right shoulder to her left hip.

Blood was everywhere as Akane fell to the ground. Kuno stared horrified as his sword fell from his hands and he dropped to his knees in disbelief. "What have I..." he began, only to modify it to, "What have _you_ done, Saotome?" thereby proving he was deluded to the end.

Ranma ran forward and quickly tore off his shirt, using it in an almost futile attempt to keep pressure on the large wound. "Someone, call an ambulance," he shouted desperately in a cracked voice, tears streaming down his face. A few of the students were able to renew motion to their legs and rushed inside to find either one of the school's pay phones or the secretary's office.

Only the fact that Akane had been facing the opposite direction as Ranma had kept Kuno from slicing through her heart and killing her instantly. Only the fact that Ranma was doing everything he could to keep his fiancée alive until the paramedics arrived kept Ranma from killing Kuno on the spot. Ukyo, however, was not occupied as such. Although Akane was her primary rival for Ranma's love, she was otherwise a good friend, and even if she wasn't, she would never wish for her rival's death like a certain indigo-haired amazon. Maybe she had gone a little too far in her attempt to stop the wedding, but unlike Shampoo she had meant to hit Ranma and only with enough explosives to cause someone like him minor injuries. Whatever the case, Kuno had not just stepped over the line but had made a running dive past it. "You retarded j******!" she screamed as she beat him over the head again and again with her giant spatula. The other students had to grab her arms to get her to stop.

Meanwhile, Ranma was still trying to stop the bleeding with his now soaked shirt. Akane was barely conscious as she tried to focus past the extreme pain she was in. She had at least managed to stop screaming. "Akane, stay with me!" Ranma cried out. "Don't worry, an ambulance will be here soon, and then you're gonna be alright. You'll see." He could tell Akane was listening, but it didn't look like she believed him. Heck, he barely believed himself. He had to tell her now. He had no choice. "Please, Akane, you can't leave me! I love you!" Akane forced a smile onto her face and simply replied, "I know." She then passed out from the pain and blood loss.

Finally, the ambulance arrived, as did the police, who took an unconscious and concussed Tatewaki Kuno into custody. As the victim's fiancé, Ranma was allowed to ride with Akane to the hospital, continually holding her hand as he shared his ki with her to hopefully help her fight her injuries.

* * *

The rest of the Tendos, the Saotomes, Ukyo, Yuka, and Sayuri were all waiting silently in the hospital that afternoon. No doubt Ryoga would've been there as well had he been in town. Ranma, Ukyo, Yuka, and Sayuri had all left school after it had happened, while Nabiki had also skipped her college classes for the day as soon as she had heard the news. It had been hours since Akane had been admitted into the ICU, and everyone was fearing the worst, particularly those who had been at Furinkan High to see the injuries firsthand.

Finally, a doctor entered the waiting room and called for Mr. Tendo. When he responded, the doctor said, "We've managed to stabilize your daughter for now, however the internal injuries were too severe. I'm sorry to tell you that she won't survive the night."

Predictably, Soun began bawling like a baby. Kasumi also began to cry. Everyone else was shocked silent, although there was not a dry eye among them, not even between Ranma and Nabiki. Ranma's face looked like all happiness had been drained from his life, and in a way it had. 'How...how could I lose her now?! After everything we've been through, including Jusendo, how can she leave me like this?' he thought. 'What am I supposed to do without you, Akane?'

* * *

A couple of hours later, Ranma was sitting alone in Akane's hospital room, continually holding her hand. Everyone else had gone home and would be back later that evening to say goodbye and wait for the inevitable to happen. Ranma, however, would not leave her side, not even to eat. He was going to be there with her until the end. 'Who would've thought it would all end this way,' he pondered in his mind.

"You really do love her, don't you, Ranma," called an ancient voice from the doorway as a familiar old woman hopped into the room on her staff.

"Hello, old ghoul," replied Ranma emotionlessly. "Come to gloat, have you? I'll tell you right now, even without Akane I'm still not going to marry Shampoo."

Cologne sighed. "I realize that," she conceded. "Mousse has told me everything that happened at Jusendo, and I now know there is no way to convince you to become my son-in-law after killing someone like Saffron for your true beloved."

A week ago Ranma would've vehemently denied any such relationship with Akane, but it was pointless to do so now. "A lot of good that did," he remarked. "Why are you really here?" he asked suspiciously.

"Despite our opposition over Shampoo, you have been my favorite student, and it's certainly been fun being around you this last year and a half. I'm here to provide you with a gift, a goodbye present if you will. I have a way to save Akane's life."

Ranma immediately brightened in exaltation, but he tampered down his expectations. "What the catch? Why would you help Akane? Are you still trying to blackmail me into marrying Shampoo?" He started to get angry.

"Calm down, Ranma," commanded Cologne. "There is no catch. Despite being Shampoo's rival, I have great respect for the Tendo girl. She's a strong girl, both mentally and physically, and has great potential as a warrior. She'd make a great amazon had she been born into our tribe. I certainly wouldn't want to see her dead. Why do you think we never tried to enforce the 'Kiss of Death' that Shampoo gave her?" Ranma relaxed, realizing the truth behind these words.

"Shampoo doesn't even know I'm here," Cologne continued. "She won't be happy when she finds out what we've done, as this will effectively eliminate any slight chance she or any of your other so-called suitors has of marrying you, although it will provide the perfect excuse for Shampoo to go home without losing any honor."

"What will we do?" asked Ranma nervously.

Cologne pulled a vial of liquid out of her clothing. "This is a special amazon potion," she explained. "It has the power to transfer the soul of a fatally wounded warrior into a healthy body. Usually, this can only be done with the body of someone who is braindead, however your Jusenkyo curse provides us with alternate means." Ranma's eyes went wide as he started to realize the implications of what Cologne was saying while she continued her explanation. "Your curse will still function as it normally does. However, you will only have control of your body while in male form, while Akane will control it while in female form. The one who is not currently in control will still retain full awareness including some sensory information such as sight and hearing. You will also be able to telepathically communicate with each other by thinking in specific words, although your surface thoughts will remain private. Still, this kind of shared relationship will be quite awkward at times, which is why we only use the potion in this manner when the two people are very close to each other. Are you willing to do this, Ranma?"

"Yes, anything ta save Akane," Ranma answered with complete conviction.

One splashed glass of water later, Ranma found herself in female form sitting in a chair next to Akane's hospital bed, one hand intertwined with hers. Cologne spread the contents of the vial over both their foreheads. "Now just close your eyes and relax, Ranma," she told him before starting to chant in Chinese. Ranma did as she was told. Soon, she began feeling strange. Her excellent ki control allowed her to feel the joining of an additional presence alongside her own. It was Akane, she realized. It was working! Finally, Cologne's chanting had stopped, and Akane's full life force was there. At that point, Ranma discovered the strangest sensation of her life to that point. She could still sense their ki and could also hear the continued beeping of the hospital machinery, but she had lost all feeling in her body and couldn't make it respond in any way. Cologne was right; this would be awkward. With nothing else to do, Ranma patiently waited for Akane to wake up and open their eyes for both of them.

Cologne felt the weariness nearly overtake her aged body as she finished the ritual. 'I'm glad I could help,' she thought. 'Those two deserve whatever happiness they can get.' Although everything she told Ranma had been the truth, there had been an additional reason she had helped them. Although she was loyal to the laws of her village and would've denied it if asked, Cologne was a true romantic at heart and wished to see Ranma and Akane happy together now that she was certain of how the two felt. Although there wasn't explicit proof in Akane's case, she knew as a woman that Akane never would've agreed to the wedding that had almost taken place the day before had she not loved Ranma in return. This was the least she could do for the two of them after all the grief she and her great-granddaughter had caused them.

With shaky wrists, Cologne reached over and tapped Akane's new body gently on the cheek with her staff. "Wake up, child. You're safe now."

Akane heard a comforting old woman's voice and something tapping against her face as she returned to consciousness. "What's going on?" she mumbled as she woke up and tried to collect her thoughts. Suddenly, her eyes popped open, and she jolted forward in her seat as she remembered what had happened. She looked down in surprise, as the pain was gone, and she could find no trace of the injury as she traced her body just under Ranma's shirt.

"How is this possible?" she asked. "I know Kuno cut me. How can I be healed without even a scar as if nothing ever happened? For that matter, why am I dressed in Ranma's clothes and without a bra? That pervert better not have tried anything while I was-" Just then, Akane noticed something else that was strange. "My voice! What happened to my voice?!" she exclaimed as she began to panic. "I sound just like-" Then it hit her. Ranma's clothes. No bra. Ranma's girl voice. Yes, her breasts were now significantly larger, as well. She reached behind her head and pulled forward into view what she had been hoping not to find: a red, braided pigtail. She was in Ranma's body! Naturally, she screamed.

Cologne watched Akane with a smirk as she figured things out. 'You can't pay for entertainment like this,' she thought. To Akane she said, "Calm down, and I'll explain everything."

Akane tried to get her breathing under control as she noticed the amazon elder for the first time. Then she strangely heard a familiar voice, distorted as if coming from inside her own head, tell her, 'Yeah, don't give us a heart attack, tomboy. We ain't got nowhere else ta put ya.' "Ranma?" she questioned. 'Who else were ya expectin'?' he answered in the same distorted way. 'This _is_ one of _my_ bodies that we've given ya.'

"What do you mean you've given it to me?" she snapped angrily. "I don't want anything to do with your dumb body, so put me back in my own body before I-" 'What cha gonna do? Beat yourself up?' Ranma teased, followed by a mental raspberry sound. "Grrrr!" Akane snarled in frustration. Cologne was chuckling at this exchange despite only being able to hear one side of the conversation.

Finally, Cologne managed to regain Akane's attention. "I'm afraid sending you back to your own body is not an option as long as you wish to remain among the living," she began to explain. "That idiot Kuno boy has seen to that. Your wounds were so severe that you would've died tonight had Ranma and I not saved you in this way." She pointed with her staff over to the bed.

Akane gasped at the sight of her own body on the bed, now recognizing that they were in a hospital room. Turning up in Ranma's body had distracted her from the issue of her injuries. "No!" she shouted as she fell to her knees. "No, it's not fair!" She began to cry.

'Ah, Akane, you know I can't stand it when you cry,' complained Ranma, who felt like doing so himself had he been capable of it at the moment. Apparently, strong emotions also carried over between them, he realized.

"I suppose I should be happy I'm alive," Akane said as she continued to sniffle. "And I am very grateful to both of you for saving me, especially you Ranma with the big sacrifice you've made. It's just that being stuck this way,-" She finished the sentence in her mind: '-I can never marry Ranma, have sex with him, or have children together.'

Ranma's mind was blown by what he had just inadvertently heard. 'Um, Akane. I can hear you when you vocalize your thoughts like that, just as you can hear mine.' "YOU WHAT?!" she screamed, her face bright red as she jumped in surprise. 'Did you really mean all of that, because I wish I could do all those things with you, too,' Ranma managed to admit without the taste of shoe leather for once now that he finally had confirmation of Akane's feelings.

'Of course, dummy,' Akane thought with a smile. 'I love you, too.'

"I take it you just thought something embarrassing, unaware that lover boy could hear you, hmm?" Cologne concluded. Akane nodded her head. "I suppose I should tell you more about your unique condition," Cologne stated. She then proceeded to fill Akane in on everything she had told Ranma about how the potion worked and her reasons for saving her.

"I didn't tell Ranma this before, as I wanted him to be certain of his commitment to you," Cologne added, "but there is a way to restore Akane to her own original body and at the same time cure Ranma's curse."

"There is?" asked Akane hopefully. "Please, what is it?"

"First of all," explained Cologne, "travel to Jusenkyo and jump in the Spring of Drowned Akane. This will of course replace Ranma's Nyannichuan curse with an Akanenichuan curse, effectively giving Akane back her own body when you're in cursed form. As one final gift, I'll leave you enough money for one round-trip ticket to the closet airport to Jusenkyo. You just need to make sure Ranma gets a passport."

"Second, there is a mystical item called, in English, the {Dewitchery Diamond}. It has the power to separate a magical cursed form into a separate body from the original while curing the original host. Normally, this would have the effect of creating a new mind for the separated cursed form identical to how the original thought while under the curse, but in your case it would simply separate your minds into your respective bodies. The bad news is that it's located in a secure government facility somewhere in the United States. It will be up to you two to find and gain access to it."

'Don't worry, Akane,' comforted Ranma. 'We'll find it. Ranma Saotome doesn't lose.' 'Dummy,' Akane teasingly replied in a sweet tone.

"One more thing," Cologne added. "It's your choice, but I wouldn't tell anyone more than necessary about what's happened here, and even then not until after the funeral to avoid raising suspicions. For everyone else, Akane Tendo dies tonight, at least until and if you're able to separate yourselves. Nobody outside of Nerima would believe you anyway, and I'd like the Kuno boy to get the full punishment he deserves. Even his family's lawyers can't fight a murder charge with so many witnesses, and it _would've_ been murder if not for my magical resources. He should get off on an insanity plea, assuming his lawyers can force him into it, but it'll be a lot easier to get him locked up for a long time in the looney bin with murder rather than attempted murder on his record.

"I agree," said Akane, mentally cursing the Kuno family. 'So do I,' piped in Ranma, 'although you should watch your language while I'm in your head. I haven't heard swearing that bad since the last time I fought Ryoga.' Akane mentally slapped herself in embarrassment.

"Good luck, you two," concluded Cologne. "Shampoo, Mousse, and I will be heading back to China as soon as I can sell the restaurant. Bie liao." Cologne slowly hopped to the door, turned the knob, and left the room.

* * *

Outside the room, Cologne sighed to herself. 'I'm glad I didn't pass out from the ritual and was able to directly tell them everything they needed to know,' she thought as she tore apart the letter she had written with those instructions over a nearby garbage can. 'I'd rather they not learn that the ritual used up so much of my ki that I now only have a few months left to live.' She slowly hopped away from the young couple for the last time.

* * *

Later that night, with Akane watching from inside his head, Ranma stood vigil with everyone else until Akane's original body went into cardiac arrest and flat-lined. It was a surreal experience for Akane to watch herself "die." Ranma kept one hand over his lower face to keep from exposing any inappropriate facial expressions, as he couldn't bluff to save his life. Unbeknownst to everyone else, Akane's life had been saved, and he was sure her family would be overjoyed when they shared the good news. Things would never be the same, and there were still plenty of challenges ahead, but at least Ranma and Akane were finally together and in more than one sense of the word.

* * *

**Author's Notes:** If you haven't figured it out yet, this is a crossover with the webcomic "El Goonish Shive," which I'm surprised hasn't been done before. Yes, I'm aware that "Ranma ½" is confirmed to be a fictional series in the universe of "El Goonish Shive" (in a scene where one character attempts to activate another character's gender transformation with cold water after watching a "Ranma ½" marathon), so just ignore that little inconsistency.

Of course, the idea for this story originated as a post-manga twist of "Togetherness" by MZepyr, and then I realized how I could connect the idea to "El Goonish Shive" through the Dewitchery Diamond and all the potential fun Ranma and Akane could have in Moperville with all the physical transformations (many of them genderbending), magic spells, and wacky combat that goes on there.

Normally, I wouldn't ever consider curing Ranma's curse, but this time it's necessary to make the story work. Maybe Tedd could find a way to give him back a similar transformation...


	4. Sailor Wrecking Crew

**Sailor Wrecking Crew**

**Fuku Fic Warning:** The following is a fuku fic. Ranma Saotome _will_ become a Sailor Senshi, and his female form will wear _that_ outfit. This will be a more analytical and humorous take on the sub-genre in the style of the classic "Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Ranma" or a (somewhat) more serious version of "The Red Side of a Blue Moon" by Noy Telin'u. However, this story will adapt the 3rd (and my personal favorite) season of Sailor Moon, and _every_ Sailor Moon character will be replaced by a Ranma character except only partially in the cases of Luna and Artemis, although this does not mean _all_ Sailor Moon characters will be included to be given a Ranma analog.

**Disclaimer:** "Ranma ½" belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. "Sailor Moon" belongs to Naoko Takeuchi. The combination belongs to...nope, not me. Who was the first author of a Ranma/SM crossover, anyway?

**Formatting Notes:** Double quotes indicate spoken dialogue, while single quotes indicate thoughts. Italics indicate flashbacks. I'm not very familiar with Japanese honorifics, so I won't be using them, except of course for Ranchan, Ucchan, Ucchan's (the restaurant), P-chan, and Jackie Chan. (Oh wait, that last one's not an honorific and only a fictional character in that one cartoon from the late '90s and early '00s.) I will also be using English translations for most terms except for the technique names that are left untranslated in the Ranma animé. As for the Amazon names, the naming theme can't be a coincidence (as with the Musk naming theme). I feel that the Chinese Amazons purposely name their children after the English words for hygiene products and then write the names as the closest Chinese equivalent. Therefore, they will have the same names even when speaking to each other in Chinese in the context of the story.

* * *

**Chapter 1: A Reincarnated Romance**

Deep in an underground laboratory, a man in a white lab coat combined two chemicals to successfully complete his latest experiment. Inside the still full testtube in his hand was floating an ugly seed-like object.

"What do you have there, Professor Ninomiya?" asked his beautiful assistant, dressed in a similar manner.

"Why tis, wahine, tis be da greatest ting since sliced pineapple: a daimon heartsnatcher!" exclaimed the professor in a horribly over-the-top Hawaiian accent.

The assistant sweatdropped. "Please don't call me that, professor. You know full well that I'm really a man. I'm only taking this form to be perceived as less of a threat by any potential enemies. That, plus this lab coat looks a lot better on me in this form." Professor Ninomiya facefaulted.

After picking himself up, the professor chuckled. "Of course, my dear Herborinite. Anyway, now tat we got tis here daimon, we kin start stealin' dem pure heart crystals to find da Holy Grail! Go, mi lil keiki, go!"

As if it could understand him, the daimon floated into the air and exited the lab. Looking for a likely location for an especially pure heart, it found its way to a Shinto shrine. It started towards a large tree on the grounds but stopped when it detected too much spiritual energy for it to handle. Instead, it merged with the bike of a teenage boy that had been left outside...

* * *

Ranma Saotome sighed at having once again become a target of the infamous ladle lady on the way to school, causing him to become wet and female. 'I swear she knows and gets some kind of perverse enjoyment out of it,' she thought. 'I'll have to quickly get some hot water before heading to class if I'm going to avoid being late again.'

She started to run for it (on the fencetops, of course) when a demon approached her from around the corner. Of course, to anyone else it appeared to be a simple housecat with pink and white fur, but Ranma knew better. "CAAAATTT!" she screamed as she ran back the way she came as fast as she could, which as a super-powered martial artist meant her speed rivaled that of Usain Bolt.

In her panic, she didn't notice the glowing crescent moon on the cat's forehead. "Great! Just great!" the cat actually spoke in a female voice. "I finally manage to find a female cat with enough ki to possess, and then I track down one of the reincarnated Senshi only to discover she has ailurophobia! What are the odds! It must be trauma induced in this life, since none of the original Senshi had that problem. Now I have to quickly find another appropriate animal." Suddenly, the glowing crescent moon shot skyward in a beam of light leaving behind a very confused cat wondering where she could quickly find hot water without being arrested for indecent exposure.

Ranma stopped to catch her breath several blocks away. "D***...{pant}...that Shampoo!...{pant}...Why does she have ta have a c-c-c feline curse?!" she complained loudly about one of the Chinese exchange students in her class. "Maybe I should tell her about my curse just so she'll stay away from me in her cursed form," she grumbled. Unlike Shampoo and her tribesman/stalker Mousse, Ranma had so far managed to keep her curse secret after all three of them had transferred to Furinkan High about two months ago, about a month into their 10th grade school year.

"And I wish she would get a clue an' realize I ain't interested in her like that. She's almost as bad as Kuno! At least I was able ta hear from Mousse about that wacky Amazon marriage law before she could trick me inta sparrin' with her," she continued to herself.

"Well, no point in runnin' now. I'm gonna be late either way." She started back to school and the punishment she knew would await her.

* * *

Ranma finally made it to school and got some hot water from the boys' bathroom, which had luckily been unoccupied. As expected, he was sent out into the hall holding buckets for being late.

Eventually, Shampoo appeared as well and received the same punishment. While they were in the hall together, Ranma asked her why she was late, curious about her strange behavior. "Shampoo no know," she replied, making Ranma cringe at the reminder that she was currently failing Japanese class. "Shampoo at home taking a bath. Shampoo about to jump in tub when suddenly Shampoo outside still as cat. When make it back home for hot water, Shampoo find she lose over two hour and now late for school. Shampoo hope this not new side-effect of curse." Ranma felt fear grip his heart at this very plausible theory.

* * *

Eventually, Ranma and Shampoo were let back into class, and the school day continued. At the first break between classes, Ranma was confronted by one of his classmates, Akane Tendo. "So Ranma, why were you late _this time_?" she asked. "Was it because of you-know-what?"

* * *

Ranma and Akane had a mostly friendly relationship, and she was the only one other than his parents and the Jusenkyo Guide who knew of Ranma's curse. She had become curious about his disappearances when hit with cold water, and he had decided to confide in her rather than have her continuously hounding him over it. It had already proven useful multiple times to have an ally who could distract or stall others or get hot water for him when he had his little "accidents."

Although, the biggest reasons he had told her were because he knew she was trustworthy, and because he had actually wanted her to know. Like the majority of the male student population of Furinkan High, Ranma had a huge crush on Akane. She was a spirited spitfire with a strong, stubborn determination that he admired and respected, yet she was also kind and caring to those in need. She was an excellent martial artist (although not at his level) of the same Anything-Goes School that he practiced. (They eventually discovered that their fathers had trained under the same master before going their separate ways). Plus, it didn't hurt that she was absolutely gorgeous. He could easily get lost in her brilliant smile.

Unlike the others boys, though, he had been absolutely horrified to witness the results of Tatewaki Kuno's insane challenge that had Akane fighting off dozens of lust-driven boys each morning. He had considered helping her out but had learned enough about Akane by then to know that she would've considered it a personal insult as a martial artist. Instead, he had gone to the source and tried to get Kuno to stop the madness with a bunch of violent threats. When that didn't work, he had followed through on those threats. Unfortunately, Kuno was a masochist who wouldn't give up no matter how many times Akane and he beat him up. Therefore, all he had accomplished was to make himself the target of Kuno's ire.

Akane was grateful for his efforts, though, and with their common interest in martial arts he had the opening he had needed to establish the strange kind of friendship they now shared, which had only made Kuno even madder at him.

* * *

"No, well, yes it happened again, but that's not why I was late," explained Ranma, finally answering the question Akane had asked him before the exposition interlude. "It was because of my other major problem: c-c-c-c- those furry little devils, specifically Shampoo, which is why _she_ was late."

A couple of weeks ago, his greatest fear had been revealed when a student named Hikaru Gosunkugi, another Akane admirer of dubious morals, had discovered it by spying on his house and teamed up with Kuno to set a trap. This had resulted in his dangerous Cat Fist state also being revealed, although thankfully Akane had been able to calm him down before he hurt the two nitwits too badly. He had been embarrassed to learn that he had also kissed Akane in front of everybody while under the Cat Fist, which resulted in a fight when Akane accused him of possibly kissing anybody when in that state.

* * *

The next class was math, Ranma's worst subject, and he couldn't help falling asleep during the (for him) boring lecture. The teacher was not happy and woke him with an eraser to the head before passing back last week's test. As punishment, he announced Ranma's barely passing grade on the test to the entire class.

During lunch, he had to put up with Akane's merciless teasing over his bad grade, which caused him to snap when she asked if he'd like her help to study. "Learnin' math ain't gonna do much for a martial artist like me, an' I certainly don't need help from an uncute tomboy like you," he icily replied.

"Ranma, you jerk!" Akane shouted as she clobbered him over the head with a chair.

'Why can't I ever say anything nice ta her?' he wondered as he rubbed the new bump on his head. This was the bad part of their relationship. He didn't want to hurt her, and he never meant any of his insults (other than the ones about her cooking the one time he had tried some of that toxic waste she called food), but it never came out right. Whenever he tried to have a nice conversation with her, he would get so nervous that he would eventually somehow stick his foot in his mouth, which would cause both sides to start flinging insults, which usually resulted in physical pain for him and emotional pain for the easily angered Akane. 'If only I could tell her how I really feel about her,' he thought.

* * *

Ranma was walking home from school, once again wet and female thanks to a quick rain shower. She was walking by the local park as she once again looked at her math test and sighed. 'What am I gonna tell Mom and Pop,' she thought. She crumpled the sheet of paper in a ball and tossed it aside.

Just then she noticed three kids in the park poking at a small, black piglet with sticks. The piglet had some kind of bandana wrapped around its neck. 'That's no way to treat an animal!' she thought. "Hey you kids, get away from it! I'm sure it ain't done nothin' ta you, so scram!" she shouted. One look at the angry teenager running towards them, and the kids quickly dropped their sticks and scrambled away. "Stupid kids, pickin' on a defenseless little pig," she muttered.

"Thank you for your assistance. I was actually trying to find _you_ when I ran into those little delinquents. Strangely, this body seems to have a complete lack of a directional sense, which made things very awkward when trying to home in on your ki signature." Ranma's jaw dropped while her eyes shot wide open in disbelief at hearing these words in a female voice from the very piglet she had just saved.

The piglet sighed. "Yes, I am a talking piglet. No, this is not my true form. My real body was sacrificed millennia ago along with another so that our souls might be preserved to provide guidance at the right time, and that time is now. I have possessed the body of this piglet so that I might speak with you. By the way, you should take your studies more seriously. This is a terrible grade," the piglet remarked as it uncurled the discarded test with its snout. Ranma just nodded dumbly, still too shocked to speak.

The piglet continued. "My name is Luna. A long time ago, (but in this solar system, not a galaxy far, far, away), before surviving written records, there was a great Queendom on the Moon in an era known as the Silver Millennium. It was ruled by the wise and honorable Queen Serenity, whom was beloved by most on both the Moon and Earth, as were her honor guard of Sailor Senshi, a group of warriors who wielded powerful magic. Serenity herself was guardian of the most powerful known magical artifact, the Silver Crystal. I served as her adviser along with my colleague Artemis."

"Unfortunately, a woman named Beryl was unhappy with Serenity's rule. She also desired Serenity's son, the Moon Prince, who had rejected her advances in favor of the Princess of Earth. Therefore, she sold her soul to the evil, chaotic entity known as Queen Metalia. Together, they raised an army of unnatural and unholy creatures called youma and also corrupted many of Earth's people, including their four greatest generals."

"A terrible war was fought, and all the Senshi were killed as were the Prince and Princess. In the end, Serenity, Artemis, and I were the only survivors of the Moon Queendom. In a last-ditch effort, Serenity tapped into the full power of the Silver Crystal. She was able to completely eradicate Metallia, Beryl, and all of their forces. The fallen Senshi, Prince, and Princess had their souls sent forward in time to be reincarnated, and Artemis's and my souls were encased in the palace's main computer, which was sent to Earth to eventually be discovered by mankind. However,such use of the crystal required Serenity to sacrifice her life, while the Silver Crystal was also sent to Earth."

"While the original threat is gone, there are now new dark forces at work on Earth. The Moon Computer had a spell placed on it to take the shape of something mundane to humans of the time. It was discovered as an arcade game a few months ago and now resides in the Nerima Game Parlor." Ranma facefaulted at this news.

"Artemis and I have sensed the danger and are now working to counteract this threat to Earth. Unfortunately, a side-effect of the soul transfer has rendered our memories as little more than swiss cheese, and we are unable to access the computer's more advanced features and databases. However, we are able to possess animals if they have enough ki. Unfortunately, not many have the required amount. Artemis was willing to settle for the first male animal he could find, which turned out to be a duck. He was able to find one of the Senshi, Sailor Venus, whom the public currently knows as Sailor V. He seeks her out when needed and returns to the computer at all other times to report back to me and to avoid unnecessary cruelty to his animal host." Ranma nodded at this, as she had heard rumors of a vigilante by that name with magical powers, although she had no idea of what she looked like or how she fought.

"I was stubborn enough to hold out for my ideal host, a female cat, as Artemis as I were essentially talking cats in our original forms." Luna continued. Ranma sweatdropped. "Unfortunately, when I finally found one I could use, I discovered your ailurophobia when I attempted to make contact this morning," Luna revealed. "Huh?" asked Ranma. "Your fear of cats," explained Luna. 'Well, that explains what happened to Shampoo this morning,' thought Ranma. Unfortunately, Ranma was unable to connect this revelation to Artemis's duck host and what this likely meant for the piglet that was currently standing in front of her."

"With that complication, I had to take the first host available to get back to you, which to my dismay turned out to be this male piglet," Luna embarrassingly explained. Ranma winced in sympathy. She knew how Luna felt, although she wasn't about to reveal that fact to something she had just met."

Luna went on. "As you've probably guessed by now, you are one of the reincarnated, legendary Sailor Senshi. Specifically, you are Sailor Moon. Your missions, if you choose to accept them (and for the fate of Earth you had _better_ accept them), are to gather the remaining Senshi; find and protect the Moon Prince, Earth Princess, and Silver Crystal; and work together to eliminate the forces of darkness that now plague the Earth and its people. Any questions?"

This all sounded good to Ranma. A martial artist is supposed to protect the weak after all. Although, she didn't trust this Luna completely yet, so she would be careful about what she was asked to do. For now, she did have one question. "So we've got Sailors Moon an' Venus. Does that make it a planet plus the moon theme? Meaning the others are Sailors Mercury, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, an' Pluto."

"Earth never had a Senshi, as it was under the domain of the Earth King. As for Pluto, it's just a dwarf planet. We recognized that fact back in the Moon Kingdom, and Earth's astronomers will likely do the same within the next ten to twenty years or so. You also won't be searching for Sailor Saturn unless things get desperate, as she is the dreaded Senshi of Destruction who is only awoken in times of great need. Other that that, you got it," Luna replied.

Luna then did a backflip in the air, and a brooch sparkled into appearance. "This is your magical transformation item," he explained. (Hey, if I'm going to refer to Ranma by her current gender, I might as well be consistent with Luna.)

Ranma sweatdropped at the girly piece of jewelry she now owned. 'At least it's small enough ta hide easily, but Mom an' Pop'll have a fit if they find it.'

"Head into those trees over there and say 'Moon Prism Power, Make Up,'" said Luna.

"Why do I need to go over there?" asked Ranma as she picked up the brooch.

"Superhero 101," explained Luna. "You don't want to reveal your secret identity, or your family and friends will be at great risk. While the magic in the transformation will prevent anyone from recognizing you, people can find out if they see you transform. Also, there's another good reason that I'll let you discover for yourself." Luna snickered at this second reason.

"Fine, fine, I'll be right back," Ranma said. She walked into the cover of the grove and called out the transformation phrase: "MOON PRISM POWER, MAKE UP!"

Luna waited as the transformation took place over the course of a few seconds and then heard the sound of a horrified high-pitched scream.

Ranma marched back out to confront Luna while using the Soul of Ice technique to keep herself from freaking out completely. [Although Shampoo couldn't do them herself, she had been able to explain the theory of a few Amazon martial arts techniques to Ranma in hopes that he would date her in gratitude (Fat chance!), and Ranma's savant like abilities had taken it from there.] "What the h*** am I wearing, and why am I _naked_ when I transform?!" Ranma had good reason to be mad, as she was currently decked out in something resembling a fetish version of a sailor-style girls' school uniform. The basic costume was a one-piece white leotard with a nearly indecently short blue microskirt. It was complimented with red boots that went up nearly to her knees, long white opera-style gloves, and a tiara adorning her forehead, plus a few other accessories including the transformation brooch now attached to her chest, as well as two round, red jewels that gathered and separated her hair into meatballs from which the rest of her hair hung in twin pig-tails. "When you said _Sailor_ Moon, I thought you meant some kind of sci-fi navy, not _this_! How is anyone supposed ta take me seriously in this getup, not ta mention how impractical it is ta fight in!"

"Well, it's how the Senshi uniforms and transformations have always been, and there's nothing I can do about it," Luna said sympathetically. "I guess they were designed by a huge pervert or something. It may also explain why all the Senshi are women." Ranma's face went pale as the Soul of Ice was shattered. "Did I forget to mention that?" asked Luna genuinely. "Don't worry. You're a nice, pretty girl. You don't need the Senshi to find a boyfriend."

This only made things worse, and Ranma began whimpering. 'But I'm a guy! A guy! How can I be the reincarnation of a girl?!'

Ranma would've begun hyperventilating had she not been brought back to her senses by the sound of a girl's scream in her mind. "What was that?" she wondered.

Luna, whose crescent moon symbol was now glowing, had also heard the scream. "That was a victim of the Dark Forces. You are to able to sense where she is. You must go and save her. Good luck, Sailor Moon!"

Ranma, now Sailor Moon, started to run off only to come back and pick up Luna before heading off again. "You're comin' with me where I can keep an eye on ya."

* * *

_Less than a minute earlier at a certain shrine:_

19-year-old time-traveling priestess Kagome Higurashi tossed her pack over the edge before pulling herself out of the mystical Bone Eater's Well. She thought about what she needed to get as she exited the little shack that encased the well with her, for now, empty pack. This was just going to be a quick visit to grab some supplies and greet her family. After all, it was going to be a new moon in the Feudal Era tonight, and she was anxious to get back to her husband, the half-dog-demon Inuyasha. It was disappointing that they could only be intimate two nights a month (once in the Feudal Era and once in the Modern Era), but Inuyasha was afraid he could accidentally hurt her if they tried it with his normal half-demon body.

As she walked across the yard she noticed that her little brother Sota had forgotten to put his bike away. "I'll just do it for him," she said to herself as she grabbed the handlebars. Suddenly, there was bright flash of light that threw Kagome to the ground, causing her to scream. A sinister voice called out, "You, who cares for your younger brother, give me your pure heart!"

When the light cleared, the bicycle had transformed into some kind of weird demon. Kagome knew the bicycle had transformed, because the demon had incorporated the bike into its design, such as the tires taking the place of legs, making it appear as some kind of pop art / demon fusion.

Most teenage girls would've either fainted or broken down in terror at such a confrontation, but Kagome was not like most teenage girls. She had faced far worse in Naraku and several other vicious demons in the Feudal Era. Therefore, she quickly rolled away and got back to her feet, narrowly avoiding a strange beam of black light that had shot at her from some kind of black star-shaped tattoo on the demon's arm.

"Hey, it's no fair dodging," the demon called out as Kagome tried to run for it, promising herself that from now on she would always bring her bow and arrows with her. If she could just make it back to the well, the demon would be unable to follow, if not rejected outright by the well then because of its size. Once safe, she hoped she could find Inuyasha quickly enough to drag him back here in time to save her family from the demon. "Figures, the one time I need him here is the one time he doesn't follow me," she pouted

Unfortunately, this proved impossible as the demon quickly cut her off with the help of the bicycle tires it had inherited. "However, you won't be able to escape from me. No human can match my speed!" it taunted.

As it raised the black star to attack once again, Kagome desperately grabbed its arm and charged some spiritual energy into it through her hands. The demon shrieked and pulled back, but it appeared undamaged other than a few sparks arcing around the area. "That hurt! What kind of human _are_ you?!" it complained.

Kagome hadn't stuck around to find out how much damage she had done, as she was quickly hightailing it away towards her family's house. Once the frustrated demon recovered from the unexpected attack, it shot out the black beam once more, which hit Kagome in the middle of her back. Kagome shrieked in pain as some kind of clear crystal was forced out of her chest. The last thing she saw before she collapsed into unconsciousness was a provocatively dressed red-haired girl carrying a piglet and advancing towards them at an alarming speed.

* * *

Ranma quickly discovered that her new transformed state had excellent perks. She was much faster than normal, and she could tell that the power-up also applied to her strength and durability. She wondered if she could combine these traits with the ki enhancement she normally used and decided to try it out. The answer was a resounding "yes" as a sonic boom pierced the air. They would be there in no time now despite needing to cross half the ward! Ranma briefly wondered if she could run on water like "The Flash," while Luna was questioning how this was possible as his piggy cheeks flopped back in the created wind.

As they approached their destination, Ranma began slowing down in order to stop before she overshot the target. She snarled as she watched the attack on the shrine priestess. She didn't really know what that glowing crystal could be, but it was probably vital to the health of the downed girl.

She aimed for the evil demon and timed her deceleration so she came to a stop just as she shoulder-tackled the demon and sent it flying across the yard. As the growling demon climbed to its feet, Ranma made a pose and called out, "Priestesses are honorable women who provide spiritual guidance and sell us cute, little trinkets. I won't let a demon like you harm someone like...like...What the heck am I doing?!" Ranma facepalmed. "I can't believe I just made a Kuno-esque speech an' even made a ridiculous pose!"

"I'm not a _demon_! I'm a _daimon_, a daimon heartsnatcher! Say it with me, 'dai-mon,'" the daimon complained angrily.

"Well, whatever you are," replied Ranma, "my name is Sailor Moon, and in the name of the moon, I'll kick your a**!" She lowered Luna to the ground and took a deceptively simple fighting stance.

"We'll just see about that!" said the daimon as it began to charge towards its new target. However, Sailor Moon was no longer there. "Huh, where'd she go?" the confused daimon asked itself. Suddenly, it was hit hard from behind and then once again as a red, white, and blue blur applied Newton's 2nd Law of Motion to its body.

As it fell to the ground once again, it complained, "How can a mere human be so much faster than _me_?!" It picked itself back up and modified itself so that most of the tire spokes pointed outwards from the center, leaving just enough in the original position to support the outside. "No matter. Just try it again and I'll turn you into a human pincushion!"

"Hey, Luna, what kind of magical attacks am I packin'?" asked the redhead to the piglet.

"Take the tiara from your head, hold it your palm, call out the English words 'Moon Tiara Action,' and then toss it like a frisbee," Luna informed. Ranma facefaulted. 'Seriously?! And why'd it have to be English?'

Still, Ranma was willing to give the ridiculous attack a try, so she did as she was told, and soon the tiara was flying towards the target as a yellow energy disc. While the spoke transformation greatly increased the daimon's attack and defense capabilities, it also robbed it of most of its speed, leaving it unable to dodge. The disc struck it the chest and...clattered harmlessly to the ground, leaving nothing but a bruise.

The daimon began laughing. "Is that the best you can do? I was beginning to think you would be a challenge. Boy, was I wrong!"

Ranma stood there stunned at how her attack had failed so miserably. Therefore, her guard was down when the daimon made two quick flicking motions with its hands. Suddenly, Ranma found herself on the ground bound by two lengths of rubber, one around her ankles and one around her waist that also pinned her arms to her sides.

The daimon restored its tires and rode over to its now helpless opponent. Luna tried biting one of the tires, but he was quickly and easily knocked away. It transformed one of its hands into a bicycle pump and raised the point over Ranma's neck, giving one of the most clichéd villain's lines ever written. "Goodbye, Sailor Moon. We _won't_ meet again."

Suddenly, the daimon gave out a scream of pain as it found its weapon hand impaled with a kunai. Two more kunai quickly flashed by and freed Ranma from her restraints with unerring accuracy. She wasted no time in getting back to her feet and getting back into a fighting stance.

Both villainous pawn and defender of justice looked to see who had interfered and were both shocked at who they found. Standing in the branch of a large tree stood a woman in a fancy, red dress. It was fashionably cut but not too revealing, while the bottom fell to just above her knees, thereby showing off her long, sexy legs. Her matching shoes were nice but decently practical (no fighting in heels here, at least not until Sailor Mars is awakened), while her long, dark-blue hair was tied off with a gorgeous red bow. A white domino mask across her upper face attempted to conceal her identity, although it did nothing to hide her big, brown eyes. At her side, she carried a staff topped with a large diamond.

"My name is 'Formal Gown Mask,'" she introduced, "and I will protect Sailor Moon from evil creatures like you. I won't let you harm her! Although, I don't know why I bother. Honestly! Could you make that skirt any shorter?!"

"The stupid uniform came with the job. I certainly wouldn't wear it if I didn't hafta. And at least _my_ name doesn't sound like it was picked by a four-year-old!" Ranma shot back.

"Hey, we're in the middle of a battle here!" the daimon tried to interrupt as it shifted its spokes back into attack mode with one hand still in pump form and the other holding the previously impaled kunai. However, the two bickering teenagers just ignored it.

"The name just came to me when I found myself transformed. Same thing with needing to protect you, knowing how to create those kunai, and knowing how to do _this_." She jumped from the tree holding her staff in an overhead position. The diamond tip then changed shape into a large cylinder, as if she were wielding a huge diamond-headed mallet, a mallet that now painfully pounded the daimon into the ground as she landed. "So show some gratitude, you perverted dummy!"

This was sounding very familiar to Ranma, and as she looked once again at the girl's visible features, she knew that there was only one girl this could be. "Akane?! What's a tomboy like you doin' dressed up like that?"

Akane's jaw dropped as she too now made the connection. "Ran-" she began only to cut herself off as she noticed the slashing motion the girl made across her throat. Instead, she began laughing hysterically. "Imagine, you {ha ha} of all {ha ha ha} people {ha ha} dressed in _that _{ha ha} outfit! {ha ha ha ha ha} And you have the nerve {ha ha} to criticize {ha} _my_ costume! {ha ha ha}"

"You know her?!" remarked Luna.

"Yeah, she's a classmate of mine," replied Ranma. "Our relationship is...complicated."

"Frienemies?" suggested Luna.

"Yeah, pretty much," agreed Ranma.

"I'm not done _yet_!" proclaimed the crushed daimon as it tried to rise once again.

"Oh, I think you are," said Ranma as she picked up her discarded tiara.

"Sailor Moon, you know that won't work. It's too strong!" Luna warned. "Isn't one of the definitions of insanity trying the same thing again and expecting different results?"

"Who says this is the same attack?" Ranma asked rhetorically as she gathered magical energy to the tiara while also coating it with her ki. "I'm takin' it down Anything-Goes style!" Having done it once already, Ranma had figured out how to tap into her magic without relying on the silly English attack phrase, so she picked her own name to truly make this new attack her own. "Moko Takabisha Revised: TSUKI TAKABISHA!*" she shouted as she hurled the disc of yellow magical energy now surrounded by blue ki energy. The attack struck home and sawed its way through the daimon. "Lovely!" it shouted as a strange choice for its last word as the energy disc finished its job and flew back into Ranma's hand like a boomerang. The daimon transformed back into a mundane bicycle as a strange seed emerged from it. The seed fell to the ground, cracked open, and released a bit of strange dark smoke into the air. The daimon was dead.

* * *

Sailor Moon, Formal Gown Mask, and Luna approached the fallen priestess with the crystal still floating in the air above her. "What is it, and why did they want it?" Akane wondered out loud.

Suddenly, they heard a cry of "WORLD SHAKING!" from nearby. Ranma grabbed Luna by the bandana and quickly tackled Akane out of the way just before a large yellow ball of magical energy with some kind of small earthquake effect passed by where they had been standing. Two girls dressed similarly to Ranma ran by and grabbed the crystal. One of the girls wore a yellow skirt and had long brown hair. She had been the one to attack. The other girl wore an aqua skirt, had long black hair, and moved like a kunoichi. She currently held the crystal

"Hey, give that back! She needs it!" shouted Ranma. "Who are you guys, anyway? Are you Sailor Senshi like me?"

"Cooking the Earth, I am Sailor Uranus," the one in the yellow skirt introduced.

"Seducing the Sea, I am Sailor Neptune," said her partner.

"We are the Outer Senshi, those who protected the Moon Queendom from outside threats. We work alone, and we not above fighting the other Senshi if our goals conflict," informed Uranus.

"This pure heart crystal is not one of the special ones the enemy seeks, so she may have it back," said Neptune. She stepped forward and placed it in Ranma's hands. "Be warned," Neptune continued. "When the special ones do appear, we will do everything we can to destroy them to insure the enemy cannot obtain them. The hosts will die, but we feel it is necessary to sacrifice those two lives to save the world."

Ranma, Akane, and Luna were all shocked at this callous attitude. "How dare you!" shouted Akane, unable to control her temper. "You have no right to decide the fate of two innocent people! The ends do not justify the means!" Ranma had to hold her back with one arm (with the crystal still held in her other hand) to keep her from attacking them. Uranus and Neptune just ignored the outburst and ran off.

With those two out of the way, Ranma returned his attention to the priestess. She held the heart crystal over her chest, wondering if she needed to do something special to return it to her body. She needn't have worried, as the crystal passed through on its own. Immediately, the color returned to the girl's face.

About half a minute later, Kagome opened her eyes to find two strangely dressed girls looking down at her. "Did you rescue me?" she asked them.

"Yes, we did," replied the redhead with a smile. "I'm Sailor Moon, an' this is Formal Gown Mask. You don't have ta worry about that evil creature anymore. It's dead."

"Thank you," said Kagome as her mysterious saviors helped her to her feet.

"No thanks are necessary," Sailor Moon replied. "It's all in the duty of a mar- I mean, a magical girl."

"I wonder what their story is," Kagome wondered to herself as they ran off with a piglet. "Can this Sailor Moon really be trusted? Well, I can at least sense that they are indeed human and not demons in disguise. I wonder what it would be like to be both a priestess and a magical girl." Kagome put Sota's bike away as she had originally intended then went inside and pondered these thoughts until her family arrived home from their shopping trip a half hour later, not realizing that they were about to hear a very interesting story.

* * *

Once back in the park and safely untransformed out of sight (after a quick lesson from Luna) back to their civilian forms, Ranma, Akane, and Luna sat together on a park bench to discuss things.

"I can't believe those two! How can they be so uncaring of innocent life?!" complained Akane about Uranus and Neptune. "Do you think they could be enemy spies?"

Luna sighed. "I don't remember much about the Outer Senshi, but I can sense that they are who they claim to be. Hopefully they can be reasoned with before our two groups are forced into a direct confrontation. The enemy would be thrilled to have infighting among their opponents."

"By the way, what is Akane's role in all this? She's clearly not a Senshi, so who is she?" asked Ranma.

Luna climbed into Akane's lap and concentrated on her aura. "I don't know," he finally answered. "She has some connection to the Silver Millennium, but that's all I can tell you. If you trust her, then so do I."

"Could somebody please tell me what's going on here?!" Akane complained.

Luna repeated the story he had told Ranma, leaving Akane wide-eyed in astonishment.

"Now that that's settled, we have one last thing to discuss before I release my hold on the piglet and return to the Moon Computer. I need to know your full names and where I can find you when I need to do so."

Akane snapped back to her senses. "Well, my name is Akane Tendo, and I live at...[whatever her address is] It's a large compound with a dojo out back. You can't miss it."

Ranma sweatdropped as Luna turned to her. She still didn't want to tell Luna about her curse. Remembering that Akane had already accidentally blurted out part of her name, she said, "M-my name is Ran...um...Ran...ko. Yeah, that's it, Ranko. Ranko Tsukino, heh heh heh. As for where to find me, it would be best to just go to Akane's house, and she can call me. In fact, with the piglet's bad sense of direction, Akane should just adopt it as a pet." She nervously fiddled with her pigtail as she finished. She needn't have worried though, as Luna wasn't the brightest Moon Cat and easily bought the story.

"You know," said Akane as she tapped her chin in thought, "if you're going to be my pet in that form, you'll need a new name. Artemis may be able to get away with being a male named after a goddess, but nobody's going to buy the idea of a male piglet named Luna, particularly my nosy sister Nabiki. I know! I'll call you P-chan! 'P' for pig and 'chan' for little." Ranma and Luna both sweatdropped. 'Why me?!' thought Luna.

* * *

Finally, Luna was gone and her piglet host had been humanely knocked out when it had tried to wander off in a confused daze, leaving Ranma and Akane sitting by themselves on the park bench.

"Wild child of the moon?!** Honestly, what kind of alias is that?! Why didn't you just tell Luna about your curse?" asked Akane as Ranma pulled out a thermos from her school bag (which had somehow disappeared and later reappeared between transformations) and used it to return to normal.

"I still don't know if I can trust everything Luna says. I ain't gonna show all my cards at once. Besides, I don't like talkin' bout my curse. It's embarrassin', and I certainly don't want anyone else ta know that one of the beautiful sailor-suited Senshi is really a guy."

"You told me about your curse," pointed out Akane.

"Yeah, but that's different. You're the only one I've told other than my mother, and that's because-" Ranma replied before cutting himself off and looking away quickly. He had almost said too much.

"Because why?" asked Akane suspiciously as she leaned over to get a good look at his now crimson face. Suddenly, her hands went to her mouth in shock. "You like me, don't you?!" Ranma tried to keep a straight face, but he had never been able to pull off a bluff. "Oh my gosh! You do!" exclaimed Akane in excitement. "It's written all over your face!"

There was no use hiding it anymore. "Yes, I have a huge crush on you, happy?" Ranma snapped out in a frustrated tone. He took a deep breath and continued more calmly. "I never mean any of those mean things I say ta you. It's just...I don't really know how ta talk to girls, especially ones I like. The truth is I think you're about as far from uncute as a girl can be, especially when you smile." He sighed. "But I guess ya wouldn't be interested in an insensitive jerk like me, especially one who's a cursed freak."

Akane giggled. "Ranma, you dummy. I don't think your curse makes you a freak. In fact, I think it makes you special. The thing is, I really like you, too. You're the only boy who's ever cared enough to be my friend rather than try anything perverted. While I wish we didn't get into fights with each other, sometimes it seems like our fights are half the fun in our relationship, as if it's how I know you'll pay attention to me. I just didn't think you could think of me as any more than a friend with all the ways you insult my looks. I'm glad to know that you find me attractive after all.

Ranma was stunned. Not only had he managed to confess his feelings to Akane, but it turned out that she felt the same way. 'Please don't be a dream!' he thought desperately. Out loud he stammered, "A-Akane, really? I-I mean, um, d-does this mean that, um, I mean, d-do you want to-"

Akane cut him off with a finger to his lips. "Shut up and kiss me, dummy," she commanded. She then wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into their first kiss, at least in this lifetime. Ranma was shocked to suddenly find Akane's lips against his own but soon started returning the kiss and placed his arms around her back to hold her tightly against him.

When the kiss finally ended, they broke apart only to collapse to the ground in pain. They both experienced massive headaches as years of memories suddenly invaded their minds all at once. When the pain finally subsided, they managed to climb back onto the bench. Breathing heavily, they stared at each other in shock.

"Endymion!" Akane exclaimed in new recognition of the man at her side. "My love, we're back, and we have another chance to be together!"

"Yes, we do, my strong, sweet little Usagi," Ranma agreed. He then began laughing. "Well, this explains a lot. I was wondering how I could be a reincarnated Senshi. Luna said her memory was full of holes, but I didn't think she could be so incompetent as to actually invent a new Senshi. Imagine, the Moon Prince turned into a girl and fighting alongside the Senshi in those outfits as one of them! Mother would've died laughing!"

"Well, I think we should teach Luna a lesson by not telling her, Artemis, or the other Senshi that we're the Moon Prince and Earth Princess that they're looking for," Akane suggested with a devious grin.

"But Akane, we have to tell them. Our mission to defend Earth depends on it," Ranma argued.

"I know, and we will them eventually when the time comes that they need to know, but let's have some fun by keeping it to ourselves for now," said Akane.

"I love it when you're devious," said Ranma as he pulled Akane into another kiss. "So, you're still bisexual like you were back then, right? My curse must make it seem like you won the lottery. No wonder you said you thought my curse made me special."

Akane's face went crimson. "You would just have to remember something like that, wouldn't you? Well, why don't we head over to a love hotel. We'll call home to tell our families we'll be late for dinner, then we'll take some hot and cold water into the room, and I'll show you just how bisexual I am," Akane suggested seductively as she traced a finger across his shirt.

Ranma's face paled. "B-but Akane, you could get pregnant!"

"Not if we pick up a box of condoms on the way there," argued Akane.

"Still, it's not right, and no protection is fool-proof. I'm not going to dishonor you by doing that until after we're married," said Ranma.

Akane laughed. "I'm just kidding, Ranma. Of course we're going to wait. That was just to get you back for the bisexual crack, although I admit you are right about that." She shook her head. "Same ol' honorable Endymion. You're just too easy. You know, it's your fault we died as virgins the first time around. That better not happen again, or I'm gonna pound you for it in the afterlife."

The two lovebirds stood up and started walking home with the unconscious P-chan in Akane's arms. Before they separated, Ranma asked, "So what are we gonna tell our families and everyone at school? We were engaged back in the Silver Millennium, but we can't just go from frienemies to fiancés in one day.

"How about this?" suggested Akane. "We tell them that we found out we both like each other and then went on a date. The date went so well that we decided to go steady as boyfriend and girlfriend. When an appropriate amount of time has passed, you'll buy me a ring, and we'll tell everyone that you proposed and I accepted."

"Sounds good, girlfriend. Does this mean I get ta beat up that hoard of perverts tomorrow ta defend your honor?" asked Ranma.

"Whatever you like, boyfriend," agreed Akane. She gave Ranma's hand one last squeeze before they left each other to take the separate roads back to their homes.

* * *

Kasumi Tendo was in the kitchen making dinner when a very excited Akane rushed in. "I'm home, sis. Sorry I took so long, but guess what? I found out that Ranma likes me, too! We've decided to start dating. I have a boyfriend!" Akane squealed very uncharacteristically as she left the room with a huge grin on her face.

Kasumi smiled. 'It's so nice to hear Akane finally learning to trust boys after what that horrible Kuno boy has done to her,' she thought.

Kasumi then heard a tapping on the kitchen window. She looked up to see a white duck wearing a thick pair of glasses. She opened the window to allow it to perch on the window sill. "Artemis, is there trouble?" she asked the duck.

"Not at the moment," Artemis replied. "The enemy has made their first move, but they were thwarted by Luna and the two allies she found. One of them is a Senshi like you called Sailor Moon. The other is an unknown Silver Millenium female warrior who calls herself Formal Gown Mask. We need you to make contact as soon as possible, Sailor Venus."

"Well, where should I look for them?" asked Kasumi.

"One of them is closer than you think," revealed Artemis. "It turns out that Formal Gown Mask is your sister Akane."

"Oh my!" exclaimed Kasumi. That was all that could really be said, and it summed up the situation quite nicely.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

* "Domineering Moon" - A fused attack combining Sailor Moon's "Moon Tiara Action" and Ranma's "Moko Takabisha." Sailor Moon required increasingly powerful attacks to defeat each season's grunts. I therefore figured that "Moon Tiara Action" on its own would be pretty ineffective as a direct attack against the 3rd season daimon, although it still has it uses as Sailor Moon proved when she did occasionally use it during the 3rd season. I suppose it's a stretch that Ranma has already invented the Moko Takabisha without the inspiration of the Shi Shi Hokodan, but whatever, butterfly effect and all that.

** When stated in the Japanese style of surname first, given name last, "Ranko Tsukino" or "Tsukino Ranko" means "Wild Child of the Moon" as Akane pointed out. The surnames of the canon Inner Senshi are a running gag. For example, canon Sailor Moon's name of "Tsukino Usagi" means "Rabbit of the Moon."

While I mostly used civilian names in the narration for the heroes in this chapter, I'll switch over to mostly using their Senshi names while in costume in future chapters. I just thought it worked better that way for the introductory battle.

Since the Moon Queen is still Serenity, it wouldn't make sense for the Earth Princess to share her name after the gender flip, so I went with canon Sailor Moon's civilian name of Usagi.

So far the following characters have been revealed:

Sailor Moon – Ranma Saotome

Formal Gown Mask (Tuxedo Mask) – Akane Tendo

Sailor Venus – Kasumi Tendo

Sailor Saturn – Hasn't yet appeared, but there is a huge hint as to her identity

Sailors Uranus and Neptune – Hasn't been spelled out yet, but it's pretty obvious who they are. Yes, Neptune is actually female in this universe, and they are a lesbian couple like their canon counterparts.

Sailor Pluto – Doesn't exist

Luna – P-chan

Artemis – Mousse's duck form

Professor Ninomiya (Professor Tomoe) – Principal Kuno, who is not related to Tatewaki nor Kodachi in this universe.

Herborinite (Kaorinite) – Prince Herb of the Musk Dynasty

You'll need to leave a signed review to receive the full list.

Yes, Mousse is worried about his reoccurring blackouts, but he hasn't told anyone yet. It has crossed Artemis's mind that it's strange for a duck to wear glasses, but he's just as dense as Luna, while Kasumi thinks it's too impolite to mention and figures Artemis has his own reasons for it.

Obviously, there's a partial crossover with Inuyasha. The odds are very low that the canon Higurashi Shrine is in the Nerima Ward, but it is in Tokyo, which is close enough for my purposes to put it in Nerima for this story.


	5. The Saotome Girls

**The Saotome Girls**

**Disclaimer:** "Ranma ½" was written by Rumiko Takahashi. To get 1 Takahashi Couple, take 1 "Jerk with a Heart of Gold" and 1 "Strong-Willed Type B Tsundere;" mix together with lots of arguments, fights, belligerent sexual tension, and plenty of preservatives against chaotic events; bake at the 3rd degree from anywhere between several months and a few years until romantic feelings can no longer be denied.

**Formatting Notes:** Double quotes indicate spoken dialogue, while single quotes indicate thoughts. Italics indicate flashbacks. Square brackets indicate panda signs. I'm not very familiar with Japanese honorifics, so I won't be using them, except of course for the few exceptions used in the English translations. I will also be using English translations for most terms except for the technique names that are left untranslated in the Ranma animé. As for the Amazon names, the naming theme can't be a coincidence (as with the Musk naming theme). I feel that the Chinese Amazons purposely name their children after the English words for hygiene products and then write the names as the closest Chinese equivalent. Therefore, they will have the same names even when speaking to each other in Chinese in the context of the story. In this story, the narration will refer to Ranma as female except for pre-curse flashbacks, and the other characters will refer to "her" as female except for Akane in the privacy of their home.

* * *

**Chapter 1: The World's Strangest Wedding**

A middle-aged man with long hair and a mustache was crying tears of happiness as he stared at the postcard in his hand. It's message was short and to the point: "Hi. Bringing Ranma from China. Saotome."

"R-Ranma! Coming here?! Oh, how I've w-w-waited for this day!" the man exclaimed. He quickly called his three daughters for a family meeting. "Hey! Kasumi! Nabiki! Akane!"

The youngest daughter, Akane, was in the family dojo breaking cinder blocks when she was approached by her sister Nabiki. "There you go again, Akane. No wonder the boys all think you're so weird," said Nabiki.

"So why should I care? Not everyone thinks the world revolves around boys," Akane responded.

"You certainly cared about one certain boy," Nabiki pointed out, which caused Akane's cheeks to flush.

* * *

"Fiancé?!" exclaimed the Tendo sisters in disbelief.

"Yes, the son of a very good friend of mine," explained their father, Soun Tendo. "If either you, Kasumi, or you, Nabiki, were to marry him and carry on this dojo, then the Tendo family legacy would be assured."

"Wait a minute!" complained Akane. "I'm the martial artist. Why can't I carry on the dojo myself?!"

Soun sighed. "I would've preferred to leave the dojo to you, Akane, but a female dojo master wouldn't be able to run the dojo successfully, and it wouldn't be honorable to offer you as an arranged bride. Besides, my friend and I promised each other that we would see the Anything-Goes schools united through the marriage of our children."

Akane scowled at her father's sexist attitude, but he was right about one thing: she couldn't be the one chosen to be engaged. Not only would it be dishonorable, but she was already practically spoken for, anyway, assuming she could ever find the boy again. She thought back on the events that had led to this:

* * *

_18½ months ago:_

_14-year-old Akane Tendo was very excited about competing in her first major martial arts tournament. It was a nation wide week-long event for female martial artists to be held in Kyoto in mid-November. Although their dojo hadn't had any students for several years, her father had kept up with the registration fees, allowing them to receive an invitation, and Akane had successfully convinced her father to let her miss school and take her to represent the dojo in the tournament. The contestants were separated by age, and Akane would be fighting in the division consisting of 13-15 year old girls._

_After easily winning her first match, Akane had noticed a boy in the crowd about her age who was staring at her intently. She had followed him with the intention of confronting and pounding him for being a pervert but discovered someone completely different from whom she expected._

_His name was Ranma Saotome, and he was a martial artist on a very long training trip with his father. Apparently, his father didn't think much of women, particularly with regard to their skills in the Art, so Ranma had snuck away from his father to watch the tournament and make up his own mind on the matter._

_The reason he had been staring at Akane was because he was very impressed with her skill for her age, and because she showed signs of being a ki adept like himself. He inquired about her school and the nature of her training and had been surprised at her answers. She caught a strange reaction from him when she mentioned "Anything-Goes," although he never did say anything about it. However, when she explained how her father had stopped training her several years ago, forcing her to continue her training on her own, his face took on a look of disgust. He told her that it was a criminal waste of talent for her training to be neglected like that and offered to help her correct her forms and teach her control over the basics of ki manipulation to increase her strength, speed, and durability. She had then smiled and uttered seven words that would forge a lasting bond between them: "I'm Akane. You want to be friends?"_

_When Ranma had revealed that he didn't have anywhere to stay and had planned on camping out, Akane had insisted he come stay with her and her father for the duration of the tournament in the hotel room where they were staying. Over the next week, they got to know each other and became very close friends. Although he could be rude, insensitive, and just as stubborn as she was, Akane found Ranma to be very kind and loyal at his core. He was also an even better martial artist than she was, and he was as good as his word when it came to her training. Under Ranma's tutelage, Akane's abilities had already begun to soar, and she used these new found skills to win the entire tournament for her division._

_When they weren't training, they enjoyed long talks with each other. Akane talked about her life back home and how things had changed when her mother had died. Ranma talked about his experiences on his training trip and how lonely he was at times. Akane grew more and more disgusted with Ranma's father, as some of his training methods were nothing short of child abuse, especially the Cat Fist disaster._

_On the final night of their stay in Kyoto, Akane was waiting in the hotel room for Ranma to get back, as he had disappeared a little earlier. Her father had gone out drinking in celebration of her winning the tournament, and she knew from past experience that he wouldn't be back until late that night._

_However, when Ranma appeared, he looked very unhappy. He explained that his father had found him and that he would be leaving with him first thing in the morning. He had barely convinced his father to wait that long before leaving. Akane had tried to convince him to leave his father for good and come home with her, but Ranma wouldn't abandon his father nor his training no matter how hard it was. _

_They had gotten into a loud, heated argument over the subject until Akane had inadvertently blurted out that she cared about him as more than just a friend. Ranma said he felt the same way, and the two drew closer until they leaned forward and shared the first kiss either of them had ever had. That one kiss led to many more passionate ones, which led to the removal of clothing, which led to, well, Akane had never before known such physical pleasure was even possible. Ironically, Ranma had never had "The Talk" with his father, so Akane had had to completely guide him in what to do. The second time was even better, as they better knew what they were doing, and most of the discomfort from her first time was out of the way (although her martial arts training had ensured that it wasn't very painful)._

_When they woke up a couple of hours later, Akane had at first freaked out at what they had done, even going so far as to hit Ranma and send him flying across the room. Eventually she calmed down, and the two lovers cleaned up and underwent their usual nightly routine before retiring to separate beds. When Akane woke up in the morning, she began to cry when she noticed that Ranma was already gone._

* * *

In the rain, a red-haired girl and a panda approached the gate of the Tendo compound. The girl was sulking and therefore missed the signs naming the dojo and giving instructions to potential challengers. "I still don't see why we have ta visit your old friend, Pop," the girl whined. "It's not like he'll have a cure for us."

In response, the panda held up a hand-written sign, which read, [If you must know, I had planned on engaging you to one of his three daughters...] He flipped over the sign. [...but that's obviously no longer possible.]

The girl scowled at the idea of being forcibly engaged, especially since there was already someone in whom she was interested, as least there had been before the "accident." However, now the whole point was moot.

The panda showed her another sign. [However, I still owe it to him to come and explain the situation.] {Flip} [Plus, if we stay for a while, it means free food, while his daughters can help you adjust to your condition.]

"Condition, ha! Ya make it sound like I've got a disease or somethin'," the girl muttered. 'I'll stay for a little while to make the old man happy, but then I'm outta here. Even if I can't find a cure, I want to find Akane. She'll at least be my friend, and it's possible that she'll even accept a relationship with me like this. Of course, she was right all along. I should've left Pop when I had the chance.'

* * *

Akane snapped back her attention to find her sisters complaining that their father has never even met their potential fiancé. Apparently, she had missed the boy's name, although it's not like it really mattered to her.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang. "We have visitors!" announced Kasumi. "Oooo! It must be Ranma!" exclaimed Nabiki excitedly. "Saotome, my friend! We've been waiting!" announced Soun as he and Nabiki ran to the door to meet them.

'Ranma Saotome!' Akane's jaw dropped. 'Is it really him?!' Akane suddenly realized that neither she nor Ranma had ever revealed his name to her father. Akane began to grin at her amazing luck. This was perfect! The fiancé their father had arranged was actually the one boy she could, and should, marry! Not only had Ranma come back to her by complete accident, but the dojo would be hers, or more accurately theirs, after all! She couldn't wait to see the looks on everyone's faces!

Her grin changed to a look of confusion when her father and sister came back in followed not by the black-haired boy she knew but by a red-haired girl and a panda of all things. Confusion then turned to shock as the panda raised a sign that read, [Hey, Tendo. Long time no see. It's me, Genma Saotome.]

Soun's eyes bugged out as he stared at the sign. He shook his head to clear it and looked again, but it still said the same thing. The panda flipped over the sign, which now read, [Unfortunately, the boy can no longer fulfill our agreement, as we've had a little accident.]

"That's the understatement of the century," remarked Nabiki sarcastically.

"S-Saotome! That's really you?! And this girl is, or was, your son, Ranma?! What happened?!" sputtered Soun.

Genma raised another sign. [It was two fateful weeks ago near Mt. Quinjing, Bayankala Range, Quinghai Province, China.]

Ranma grabbed the sign and used it to bash Genma over the head. "Lemme tell the story. It'll take too long that way," she complained.

She proceeded to explain how they went to train at Jusenkyo, the legendary training ground of accursed springs. They learned too late that when you fall in a spring, you are cursed to take on the form of whatever first drowned in the spring. Genma had fallen into the "Spring of Drowned Panda," while Ranma had fallen into the "Spring of Drowned Girl." The guide had told them that those cursed by Jusenkyo used to be able to revert back to their natural forms with hot water, while cold water would once again induce their cursed forms, but that had changed. About a year ago, the Phoenix Tribe of Phoenix Peak had commandeered Jusenkyo's source waters of Jusendo to ascend their leader Saffron to his full power in order to provide energy for their civilization, whatever that meant. Ever since then, the Jusenkyo curses were permanent and could not be permanently replaced by another curse such as the "Spring of Drowned Man." Unless they could find some kind of magical cure, they were stuck as a panda and a girl for the rest of their lives.

The entire Tendo family felt sympathy for their plight, even Nabiki. Soun was of course balling his eyes out, not just because of his friends' misfortune but also because of the loss of his long-held dream to unite the schools.

However, no one felt worse than Akane. 'It's not fair! It's just not fair! I finally get Ranma back, and he's been turned into a girl. I don't want to marry another girl! Still, I can't just reject him.' She quickly came to decision. 'As long as he'll have me, I _will_ marry him, curse or no curse.'

She still needed to make sure of one thing, though. She stood up and walked over to the girl. She then bent over and looked deep into her eyes. They were indeed the same deep blue eyes she had seen a year and a half ago. There was no mistake. This girl really was her Ranma.

"Ranma, it really is you!" she happily exclaimed as she embraced the girl. "It's me, Akane!"

At first Ranma was scared at the actions of the girl now hugging her, but she was now crying tears of joy at having found her old friend. It wouldn't have even been necessary for her to reveal her name, as she would've recognized her voice anywhere.

Ranma released Akane and pulled her back to take a good look at her. He hadn't recognized her before now, because she had grown up quite a bit in the last year and a half. She had gone through a growth spurt not just in height but very significantly with her chest as well. Her hair was also longer than it had been before. She had told him that she had been growing it out from a very short hairstyle she had worn when she was 12, and it now fell over halfway down her back to be held in place by a bow. Still, it was the same pretty face, the same gorgeous brown eyes, the same beautiful smile, and the same silky dark blue hair.

"I-I can't believe it! You're here, Akane. You're really here," Ranma said as she sniffled and her tears continued to fall. Genma would've admonished him for crying like an overemotional girl, but there was really no point in such taunts anymore, especially after the beating he had been administered the one time he had tried it after they had been cursed.

Everyone else was shocked at this tearful reunion. "You two know each other?" asked Soun curiously.

"So do you, Dad. He's the boy who stayed with us during that tournament a year and half ago," Akane explained.

"Yeah, I thought ya looked familiar, but I couldn't figure it out until now," added Ranma.

Soun's face paled. "That boy! The one you- Oh, c***!" He fell to his knees in defeat.

"I don't care! I'm going to marry him, anyway," announced Akane.

"How do you expect to do that?" asked Soun in disbelief. "Same sex marriage is illegal in Japan."

"Actually, that's not a big problem," pointed out Nabiki. "As far as the government is concerned, Ranma here is still legally 100% male."

"Nabiki's right," agreed Akane. "His clothes are already loose enough, so as long as he lets the rest of us do the talking, all we have to do is bind his breasts, put on a pair of sunglasses, and no one will be the wiser. We'll each take a bath, I'll change into a nice dress, and we can head down to the courthouse later this afternoon.

Ranma waved her hands in front of herself. "Whoa! Whoa! Aren't we goin' kind a fast here? I'm glad, no make that very relieved, that you still want me this way, and I'm willing to accept the engagement, but why do we have ta get married right away?"

Akane sighed. "Come with me, Ranma. It's best if you see for yourself." She led her upstairs and past doors with duck-shaped signs that read "Akane," "Kasumi," and "Nabiki" in roman characters before stopping at the last door. She turned to Ranma and asked, "Ranma, remember what we did our last evening together?"

Ranma blushed. "Yeah, that's kind a hard ta forget."

"Ranma, I need to know. Have you done that with any other girls?" asked Akane.

"No, of course not," answered Ranma. "You said I should only do that with someone really special to me. You're the only special girl I've ever had in my life."

Akane let out a relieved breath. "Well Ranma, what I didn't tell you is that we really shouldn't have done that until after marriage."

"Why not?" asked a confused Ranma.

"I'll get Kasumi to tell you everything you need to know later, but basically what we did, having sex, is where babies come from."

"Huh?" asked Ranma, still not getting it.

Akane opened the door, which also had a duck-shaped nameplate on it, although Ranma didn't catch the name on it. Inside, the room was revealed to be some kind of nursery with several toys along with packages of diapers and other care items. Akane led Ranma over to a crib at one side of the room, which contained a sleeping baby. "Ranma, meet Kimiko Saotome, our daughter."

Ranma's mental operating system crashed, providing her mind with a figurative "blue screen of death." She fell to the ground unconscious.

* * *

_As Akane took the train back to Tokyo with her father after the tournament, she once again mentally berated herself for being so stupid. How could she have lost complete control over her hormones like that? Not only had she broken a promise to Kasumi by having sex before marriage, but she had done it unprotected during the worst part of her cycle._

_A couple of weeks later she was very disappointed but not surprised when her period was late. For two weeks she hoped and prayed that it would come (very ironic in hindsight), but it never did, and one morning she had woken up to severe nausea which later passed as if nothing was wrong. Akane knew what this probably meant, so she secretly bought a home pregnancy test (at a store far enough away that she wouldn't be recognized by the woman at the register). She cried when she saw the positive result. It just wasn't fair. She was just 14 years old and pregnant with the father missing and no way to find him. _

_She had no choice but to confess to her father and sisters what she had done and the result of that mistake. They took her to Dr. Tofu who confirmed the pregnancy and recommended an appropriate doctor they could trust, as such an area was beyond Tofu's practice. An abortion was suggested, but Akane absolutely refused to even consider killing her baby, so the topic was never brought up again._

_By a small miracle they managed to keep the pregnancy and baby a secret. (Kasumi managed to convince Nabiki to keep the secret for free.) At the end of Akane's 8th grade school year at the end of the following March, she was beginning to show but not enough for anyone to make the connection. They confided in Akane's junior high principal and received special permission for Akane to spend the first term of 9th grade doing her schoolwork at home while her friends brought her assignments and tape recorded lectures. Summer break came at the perfect time, and the baby was born on August 19th with no complications. Akane then had enough time to regain enough of her figure before rejoining her schoolmates for second term._

* * *

When Ranma awoke a little while later, she found herself lying on a large bed in another room. Akane was sitting on the edge of the bed with her gi top open and the baby from earlier sucking on Akane's- Ranma blushed and quickly adjusted her view to Akane's face.

"Look Kimiko, Daddy's awake," Akane said soothingly.

Ranma gulped and quietly asked, "So I'm really her father?"

Akane smiled. "Well, you've got the biggest chest of any father I've ever seen, but yes, it's true." She giggled. "Honestly, my future husband has boobs that are a little bigger than my own, and that's after I've had a baby. There's something just not right about that."

Akane finished feeding Kimiko and covered herself back up appropriately. She then proceeded to burp the baby while Ranma watched fascinatingly.

"Do you want to hold her?" asked Akane. At Ranma's nod, Akane showed Ranma how to hold her and gently placed Kimiko in her arms.

Kimiko cooed happily as Ranma gently rocked her in her arms. Ranma was practically glowing as she looked down at her daughter. "She's beautiful, Akane, just like her mother...and her father."

"She's 9½ months old. Her first birthday will be on August 19th. I named her Kimiko after my mother," Akane informed Ranma. "I gave her your family name, because I always thought we would one day be reunited and get married, and now we will be, although not in the way I expected. It's also why I moved here into what used to be the larger guest room and got this queen-size bed, while Kimiko is in my old bedroom. This bedroom now belongs to both of us."

Ranma looked around the room appraisingly. As Akane had said, it was much bigger than Kimiko's room. Ranma noticed several feminine touches that contrasted nicely with items like weights and a shinai that represented the tomboy nature of her soon-to-be wife. Besides the bed, the room was also furnished with a desk, a chair, and a very large dresser that had enough room to add some of her own clothes. Akane had also left enough of the room undecorated for Ranma to add her own personal touches. Ranma smiled. Maybe her new life as a woman wouldn't be so bad after all.

* * *

After lunch, Kimiko was given to Auntie Kasumi to watch while Ranma and Akane took a bath and got ready for their trip to the courthouse. Ranma had at first been uncomfortable with the idea of bathing with Akane until Akane pointed out that they would be married soon and that they had already gone a lot further than that anyway.

Ranma dressed in a fresh pair of her usual Chinese clothes with her hair in its usual braided pigtail. Nabiki took on the job of binding her breasts tightly and rented (to Ranma's annoyance) her a pair of sunglasses. Akane, meanwhile, wore a pretty pink dress with a red blouse. She explained that she usually wore a white blouse with this dress but didn't feel comfortable wearing white under the circumstances.

Ranma, Akane, Soun, and Nabiki went to the courthouse and took care of the paperwork without any problems, and Akane Tendo officially became Akane Saotome.

* * *

Upon returning home, Ranma couldn't wait to remove the very painful restrictions on her chest, to the point that she simply removed her shirt and the bindings right there in the tea room. She was then given a strict lecture by Kasumi on feminine modesty, who had entered the room to talk to Ranma after handing Kimiko back to her mother. Kasumi then proceeded to give Ranma the full talk on "the birds and the bees" and the female body in general. Ranma was not happy when Kasumi got to the part about what she could expect from her body for the first time in a couple of weeks and then about once a month thereafter.

Nabiki then approached her about getting her registered for school at Furinkan High. Ranma wasn't happy about going back to school but accepted it as necessary to be able to support her new family. Nabiki and Kasumi then took Ranma over to the high school, where Nabiki had called in a favor with the vice principal (the principal having disappeared three years earlier) to meet with them on short notice on a Sunday. They explained to him about the curse and recent marriage and their desire to keep both a secret. Of course, he didn't believe them until they fingerprinted Ranma right there in his office and matched them to a copy of Ranma's birth certificate that Genma had kept. The vice principal was used to overlooking embarrassing situations at the school, so a little monetary persuasion from Nabiki (which she would later reimburse from Ranma and Akane) was all it took for him to register Ranma as a girl and reconcile that point with her previous school records, as well as making sure that Akane's surname remained "Tendo" in her school records. As long as nobody looked at Ranma's records closely enough to notice that she had at one point attended an all boys junior high, her secret was safe.

Afterwards, Ranma's sisters-in-law took her shopping for school uniforms and feminine underwear. Ranma fought tooth and nail against this assault on what remained of her male identity, but Kasumi insisted that as a girl she needed to wear the light blue dresses, white blouses, white feminine socks, and proper shoes that girls wore to Furinkan High and that it simply wasn't proper for a girl to wear boxer shorts. Ranma fought hardest against wearing bras, despite Kasumi's argument that she would draw the wrong kind of attention from boys if she continued to let them bounce free, while Nabiki pointed out that her very large assets would eventually cause shoulder and upper back pain if not properly supported. Eventually, Ranma finally gave in when they reached a compromise of getting her sports bras.

Their last stop was the most embarrassing, as they went to a convenience store to get her certain feminine products that she would be needing before long. Ranma's face was scarlet the whole time they were there.

* * *

Once they were finally home, Ranma spent some time with her wife and daughter while Kasumi prepared dinner. Ranma and Genma were then treated to their second time in the heaven known as Kasumi Tendo's cooking.

Afterwards, Kimiko was changed and put to bed, and Ranma and Akane relaxed by watching a movie on TV while cuddled up next to each other. The baby monitor was on just in case, but there were no interruptions during the movie. Once the movie was over, it was time to go to bed after their busy day and with school the next morning.

* * *

When Ranma entered the bedroom she now shared with Akane, she was surprised to find her wife sitting on the bed completely naked. "W-W-What's goin' on?" she asked nervously.

"Well, it is our wedding night, and I want to get something out of it." Akane answered with a blush.

"B-B-But we're both girls," Ranma stuttered in surprise.

"Ranma, you're my husband, and I want this to be more than just a loveless marriage. While I've never been interested in other girls this way before, I'm willing to make an exception with you to make this work," explained Akane.

Akane then stood up and approached Ranma. She leaned forward and kissed her female husband on the lips. Seeing the passion in Akane's eyes, Ranma gave in and held her wife close as she began kissing back. Things progressed between the newlyweds much as they had the evening Kimiko was conceived, except this time Akane introduced Ranma to the concept of tribadism...

As they lay beside each other in the afterglow, Ranma remarked, "Wow! That was different."

Akane turned her head to her partner and asked curiously, "Do you like it better as a boy or a girl?"

"Akane, what we just did was incredible and a lot different from what I felt as a boy, but it's just not the same without any penetration," admitted Ranma. "Not that I have any interest in sleepin' with a boy, even if I wasn't married," she quickly added.

"I have to agree, and not just because I find boys more sexually attractive," said Akane with disappointment in her voice. "Still, you're my husband, and I'm glad to have you as the only man or woman whom I'll ever sleep with. I'm not just saying this out of honor or duty, Ranma. I really like you, male or female, and I think I'm falling in love with you."

"Me too, Akane, me too," Ranma agreed. "At least we were able to have the full experience when we had the chance, and what we're doing now is still a lot of fun." She reached over and pulled Akane close. "Now come here, you sexy tomboy. I'm not done with you yet."

The newlyweds proceeded to go a few more rounds until exhaustion set in, then they fell asleep in each other's arms with smiles on their faces...at least until the sound of a baby crying came through the baby monitor and woke them up.

"Does this happen often?" Ranma complained.

"She usually sleeps through the night now, but every once in a while this still happens. I was losing so much sleep at first that Kasumi agreed to take over middle-of-the-night duties for a while," explained Akane as she slowly got out of bed and put on a pair of pajamas. "I'll let you off the hook for tonight, Ranma, but you're going to need to do your share of this, too."

Ranma gulped as this thought. Still, even with these complications, she was glad to finally have a real home and family. Jusenkyo had definitely been the low point of her young life, but hopefully things would continue to get better. She wondered what surprises awaited her at school in the morning as she rolled over and tried to get back to sleep. Surely, school couldn't be anywhere near as complicated as today had been.

* * *

**Author's Notes:** So here's my take on a locked girl-type Ranma fic as inspired by "A New Face, A New Life?" by tuatara. What do you think?

I tried to keep the sex and other sexual themes as clean as reasonably possible, but I'm still worried I may have crossed the line of a T rating. Do you think I should give the full story an M rating if I continue it?

I realize that Ranma is too young to get married under current Japanese law. However, I believe that at the time the manga was written a boy could get married at 16 with parental permission. Soun and Genma would've both signed and stamped the parental consent form before they went to the courthouse. While pandas only have partially opposable thumbs, if Genma can write those signs in panda form, he can certainly sign his name.

I've pointed out in some of my reviews for other locked girl-type Ranma stories that there are two things I wish to see more often in these kinds of stories. One of them, a legal marriage to Akane, I've already used. The other will eventually be used as well, but that's all I'm going to say (or type) unless you leave a signed review.

I chose Kimiko's birthday of August 19th after my own birthday.


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